Assassin
by LateNightFantasy
Summary: He didn't know this was his last night... As she ran through the forest, she has no idea this was her last mission... When she turned away, he didn't realize this was the last time he would see her... Strangers come together to fight for good, but can they defeat evil? *These are my own stories that I will try to update every day, please tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1 - Smoke, Fire, and Blades

Prologue

In years to come, some say that it was the fire that drew him near, so he could warm himself after a long journey. Others say that it was the beauty of the sleeping girl. But the two people, to whom it really mattered, didn't care how or why it happened. They were just glad it did.

Let your mind wander. Let it drift back to the times of old, to a different land in the where there were castles and kings, peasants and lords; a time where, to most people, life was simple. This is where you will find the beginning of their story.

* * *

Chapter 1

Smoke, Fire, and Blades

Everything was dark. They weren't expecting visitors, especially any visitors like her. Her blonde hair was so short she could pass for a man. She had a pair of breeches on, leather boots that came up to her knees, a cotton undershirt, and a thick leather jacket that served as her armor. Her entire ensemble was black as night.

That was not what made her the most unusual, though. She had sheaths strapped to both boots; each holding wicked looking knives, and a short-sword was hanging around her hip. Hidden from sight were many other tools that she might have to use.

The entire household was asleep, not aware that they had fallen in ill favor with their king. Ayden, of course, couldn't see what they had done wrong, she never could. Whenever she would ask the king what the person had done, he would only sneer and tell her it was none of her business.

So there she was, sneaking through the house until she found the master bedroom. She crept in and stood by the side of the bed. She didn't know the name of the man she was sent to kill, and knowing wouldn't make her job any easier. Silently, she slipped one of her knives out of its holder and brought it towards the base of his neck. What was surprising was that he looked extraordinarily like William, her husband. But he couldn't be. The king held him hostage and would torture him if she didn't come back from her mission having killed this man. Yet he did, he looked so much like her William. He had blonde hair and the same prominent cheekbones. She bet that under his closed eyelids, his eyes would be a bright shade of the most brilliant blue. He had a similar lean, muscular build to him as well.

She was still standing there with her knife hovering over the man's throat when his wife turned over and awoke. She sat still, staring at Ayden for a moment, but only a moment. Then, she screamed.

…

"No!" Ayden sat up with a jerk and looked around.

It was only a dream. The sad thing was, it was a dream of the past. That was her last night as an assassin. She didn't kill that man and the king got very angry. In a fit of drunken rage the king had tried to kill her; but William saved her. The price was his own life. With a knife buried deep in his heart and his head cradled in his wife's arms, he died. He died with a longing look in his eyes as his hand fell away from her face. The words "I love you" died on his lips as the light left his eyes.

They had been married only one day before the king had found them. This king, he had many people working for him. Many…assassins. She had been one of them, but only because she was forced to. He had held William hostage for many years and used him as a leverage to keep her. She was seventeen when she started working for him and it was only five years later that William died to save her. That night she disappeared into the dark, and that is where her true story begins.

…

A scream shattered the silence and the smell of the smoke was strong in the air. Emmett woke with a start and glanced around at his surroundings. At first, everything seemed normal, but he took a closer look and widened his senses. He smelled smoke, and heard distant screaming and the sound of frightened horses. Then, he heard the sound that had awoken him in the first place. His sister was screaming his name from the next room. She had only been seven and he was twenty-three when their mother died, and now, three years later, he was the only family she had left.

When he heard her screaming his name he jumped up out of his bed and scrambled to her room, tripping over a few of her toys in his haste.

"What? What's wrong?" he panted as he skidded to halt beside her bed.

"There is something going on outside! Can't you see it, Emmett?" and little Aria pointed to her window. As Emmett looked, he saw a fierce fire racing across the town, devouring the buildings and homes as it went. People were running everywhere, trying to stop it, when out of the smoke came horses and on them were soldiers with raised swords. They charged and killed every one they came to.

"Stay. Here," Emmett ordered his sister. And she, to scared to talk, just nodded and watched solemnly as he slipped out of her room. She knew that he was going to get the crossbow that he kept under his bed.

"Uh-oh." she thought. She suddenly remembered that he wouldn't have any arrows to shoot with. She had used the last of them the other day, using them as target practice. She got up to tell him this, but when she reached his doorway, she found that someone else was already there, holding him at sword point. And, unfortunately, she screamed.

The man, hearing her, turned quickly, accidentally running her through with his blade. She looked at him in surprise, turned to her brother and uttered his name, then dropped down dead.

"Noooooo! Aria! You. Killed. My. Sister!" Emmett yelled as he jumped at the man. The soldier swung his sword, but to late. His sword grazed Emmett's stomach, but he was soon over powered. Emmett was mad with rage as he tore the weapon out of his hand and stabbed the man threw his chest. He pulled the sword back out with a sickening noise and went outside to help the towns people.

His sword was dripping with blood as he stood on the porch taking in the scene that lay before him. Bodies littered the streets; buildings were either already crumbled and disintegrated or completely engulfed in flames. Just as he stepped into the street, someone snuck up behind him and slashed at his back, giving him a deep gash from his right shoulder to his left hip. He shouted in pain as he turned to face his attacker but was hit over the head and dropped like a dead weight. He was unconscious for several hours and didn't wake up till the following evening.

When he did finally wake, the sight that met him was terrible. Bodies everywhere. Every house was completely burned to the ground, including his. He realized, with a stab of pain, that it meant he would never see his sweet, innocent sister again.

Her big, sea green eyes would never look at him, begging him to play with her and her dolls, always winning him over. Her white blonde hair, such a contrast to his, which was black as midnight, would never again be seen bobbing along at his side. Her skinny little arms would never be giving him another hug, her pink little lips wouldn't kiss him on the jaw at night before she would run off to bed, and her rosy cheeks would never turn a deep shade of scarlet when he would tease her about the boys in town.

Mad with grief and pain, he got up and stumbled around. He was not sure where he was going, but he didn't really care, as long as he got as far away from home as possible.

Emmett walked almost all night, until he spotted a small fire in the distance. He didn't care who was over there, as long as they let him eat and rest for a little while. He crept slowly over to the source of the light, and when he got there, he at first thought no one was around. Sitting down, he began to warm himself by the fire. He didn't see the girl in the shadows, fast asleep. That is, until she jerked up and shouted. She looked wildly around, and then seemed to realize she had been dreaming. She sighed, got up, and started walking to the fire. It was then that she realized that she had company. When her eyes landed on Emmett, she stopped immediately. The only thing that moved was her hand to her short-sword around her waist. But even in her defensive stance, he noticed that she was beautiful. Her hair was a dirty blonde and rather short for a girl. It was cut right along her jaw line and had a lot of layers, but in an attractive way. Not a bad look, really.

Her eyes were a piercing green; her lips were perfectly shaped and slightly parted.

Thinking that it would be the right thing to do, he stood up to introduce himself.

…

Ayden jerked up, out of her nightmare. She looked around at her surroundings and tried to remember where she was. She sighed and got up to warm herself by the fire. But, she noticed that she was not alone. A man was sitting by her fire, staring at her. His black hair was falling into his large, dark brown eyes. But part of his hair was matted, and when she realized what it was, she was even more wary of him. Blood was in his hair and running down the side of his face. But it looked old, like his wound was from a couple days ago.

She put her hand to the hilt of her sword and tried to find anything on this strange man that might help her to realize why he was there, without actually having to talk to him. He was very dirty, and had more cuts and bruises on his arms. When she looked down at his shirt, she noticed that there was a line of blood across his torso. She couldn't help but notice he had a particularly good-looking ab line, which she could see through his shirt. He also held one of his arms at an odd angle as if it hurt him.

Suddenly, he started to get up.


	2. Chapter 2 - Suspicion

*This is my own story, please let me know what you think!

* * *

Chapter 2

Suspicion

"Um…hello. My name is Emmett. I know I must have startled you, and I'm sorry. My town was just attacked and I seemed to be the only survivor. They killed my sister." as he said this, his brow furrowed as if the effort to stand and talk to her had used up a lot of his energy. But his eyes looked sincere and seemed to be pleading with Ayden to let him stay and rest for a little while.

Ayden relaxed just a bit as he said these words. She knew that there had indeed been soldiers headed somewhere close by, but she didn't know what their intent had been.

So she nodded and released her weapon.

"My name is Ayden. I am sorry to hear about your town and of your sister. You may stay here to rest. That is, until I feel that it isn't safe for me to be here any longer." Emmett looked confused, but was grateful that she wasn't going to make him leave. As he sank back down to the ground he grunted in with discomfort. Ayden stepped closer when she heard him and asked what was wrong.

"When I was fighting, I got hit a couple of times. But it's not that bad." he added hastily when he saw that she was coming over to inspect his wounds.

"Sure. Just let me have a look." And without waiting for an answer, she carefully took his shirt off, being extra gentle where the blood had dried it to his skin. When it finally came off – with a few small gasps of pain from Emmett – she shook her head.

"Emmett, you should have never traveled for so long without at least cleaning these! They don't look infected, but they very well could have been." she chastened. "Stay here while I get something."

Emmett watched her as she went over to a bag hanging in a tree. She groped around in it for a second and came back a moment later carrying a few boxes and jars in her arms.

"What…" he started to ask, but was silenced by a look that she gave him. He probably didn't want to know what was in the containers anyway. He was sure he would find out soon enough. He was right.

"Ahh!" he yelped, "What was that?" Ayden squinted at him, and then answered, "It's just something that will clean your cuts. Now hold still." she started to clean the blood out of his hair, and, he had to admit, it felt really good. He closed his eyes and tried to enjoy the feeling as she gently ran her fingers through the strands that were bloody, and when she finished, all that was left was a small bump where he had been hit. She moved on to his back, gently wiping the blood that had clotted and dried around the original cut.

"This one is pretty nasty." she commented, but other than that, she did her work in silence. She smoothed a balm over the slash on his back. When she was through, she laid a clean mat on the ground for him to lie back on so she could reach his stomach easier.

"I got this right after they killed my sister," he said quietly. "A man was holding me at sword point, and she came running into my room. When she saw him, I guess it startled her so bad she screamed. The man turned and s-stabbed…her. I, I tried to kill him, but he got me first. Ha, but I got him in the end." Ayden didn't say anything as he was telling her the story, but when he finished, she looked down at his face. He had closed his eyes and looked like he was getting ready to sleep some. She was fixing to turn back to her work, but she noticed a tear running silently down his face.

…

The first thing that Emmett noticed that morning was that he had a blanket over him and his wounds didn't hurt as bad anymore. He sat up slowly and looked around. The girl, Ayden, was nowhere in sight. Lifting the blanket he realized that he still didn't have a shirt on and the full realization of what had happened last night suddenly hit him.

He had stumbled into an unknown camp, let a complete stranger (and a girl at that) clean his wounds, and he even told her what had happened in his town. He must have passed out while she was still helping him and she had put the blanket over him.

Emmett looked down at himself and noticed that she had also stitched him up. "Ouch," he thought, "I'm glad I don't remember that part."

As he started to get up, he looked around for his shirt, and found it lying over the

same branch that held her bag. He realized that would give any stranger a great chance to snoop in her things so they could find out more about her. It was really uncommon for a girl to be out on her own like this, but, he decided that he would trust that she wouldn't hurt him after she had helped him. So he got up and went over to the branch, grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head.

…

Ayden got up that morning before the sun, as usual. As she got up, she went over to Emmett and grabbed his shirt. Deciding that it needed cleaning, she ambled over to the spring that was near by. After washing his shirt, she herself rinsed off and then hiked back up to her camp and laid his shirt over the branch that also held her bag.

Grasping an arrow, she walked back off to the creek to catch some breakfast.

Ayden stood in the icy water. With her pants rolled up to her knees, the water lapped gently around her legs. She stood as still as a statue as she waited for the fish to come to her. If she had learned anything from her past, it was that if you wait long enough your prey will unknowingly give themselves up to you.

After waiting what seemed like twenty minuets, a fish finally came into her sight. It was slowly swimming aimlessly but was making its way towards her all the same.

With a few more swishes of its scaly tail, the trout came within her arrows range. Ayden carefully took aim, but right as she threw her weapon, the sounds of yelling and crashing came from the thickets behind her, causing her to miss the fish completely as she whirled around to see what was making the commotion.

…

After pulling his shirt down, Emmett got his first good look around the camp. It was clean, and in a small clearing. The fire pit was in the center and Ayden's few belongings were off to the side.

Looking to the ground, he noticed sets of footprints in the dirt. He saw his. They weren't really footprints but looked more like something had been dragged along the ground. He saw her footprints going to and from her bed and the fire pit, her bag, and the mat where he had slept last night. But the freshest set he saw was headed down towards the woods. Deciding to follow them, he set off.

Not exactly paying attention to what was going on around him, he didn't notice that the footprints had disappeared. He also didn't notice the root sticking up out of the ground, jutting up just enough to trip him. Doing its job, Emmett tripped over the root and tumbled head first into a rose bush. Being spring, the roses were in full bloom.

Shouting out in surprise, Emmett got tangled into the bush with thorns sticking themselves in all of the wrong places.

When he finally looked up, he was staring straight into Ayden's eyes. Big and green, they were full of laughter and concern…also maybe just a little bit of annoyance.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, exasperation playing around the edge of her voice.

"You mean this?" Emmett answered, gesturing around at his thorn bush prison. "Oh this is nothing. I was just trying to…well, what do you think I'm doing?" he asked, not exactly sure what he should say._ "Oh I woke up this morning and found you were gone so I decided to follow your footprints and see if I could find out what you were up to. Then all of a sudden, I trip over a root and find myself literally suck in a bunch of thorns. So what are you up to?" _Instead he offered up a rose, and tried to give her what he hoped would look like a very sorry, puppy-pleading face.

Rolling her eyes, Ayden took the rose and offered him a hand up in return.

"You know, I just can't seem to figure you out, Emmett. You come into my camp half dead, you were all upset about your sister (which I get) but you don't say anything about your parents. Then you wake up and the first things you do is fall into a rose bush and get stuck with a thousand thorns. You are one strange man."

"Yeah, well…my parents died years ago. And I didn't see that tree root, okay? Hey, I'm injured. Be nice." He pouted. Pulling out his puppy eyes again. "Anyway, I don't seem to be the only one who needs to explain things a little. You are a young girl, in the middle of nowhere. Your hair is super short (I'm not complaining, just stating a fact). And, you are heavily armored. If I didn't know better, I would think you were running from the police or something. Well…I don't know better, but I hope you're not. But if you are, I won't tell anybody. Pinky swear."

"Oh, wow. Sorry, I didn't know. And how could you not see the root? It's sticking up a couple inches out of the ground! You're not that injured and I don't have to explain myself…I'm the one who helped you.

Ok. I'm sort of an ex-cop. My hair kept getting in the way so I chopped it off. And no, I'm not running from the police…I don't think… Anyway, it's safer for you if you didn't know to much about me."

"And why is that?"

"It just is. Trust me."

"You know? I don't know you very well, so I really don't think I can trust you that well."

"Well you have to on this…" Ayden paused, cocking her head to listen to something better.

Suddenly, she was running back to the camp, pulling Emmett along by the hand. As soon as they got there, she started running around and packing her things into her bag, just kind of tossing things in there. Turning to Emmett, she whispered, "I was never here. This is your camp." and she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3 - Truth

Chapter 3

The Truth

Emmett stood there for a moment a little dazed, but then he heard the sound that had startled her. Men were coming up to the camp.

Deciding that it would be safest to pretend that he had been there for days, he sat down by the fire pit and tried to start a fire. Just as he was getting a spark, the men appeared. There were five of them all dressed similar to Ayden. The tallest one walked up and spoke first.

"Excuse me, but you haven't seen a young woman around here have you?"

"A woman?" Emmett asked, trying to look confused. "Mmm no. I don't believe I have. Why?"

"She is a dangerous fugitive. She was working for King Rupert, when she killed her husband and abruptly left his service. It was only after she escaped that we found out she had been killing people almost every month. They say that one day she just snapped and killed her husband. The realization of what she had done must have finally hit her so she ran. And anyway, she would more that likely look more like a man than a woman. She keeps her hair short. Well, it's about your length I guess, unless she has let it grow. It's kind of a dirty blonde color.

And if she hasn't taken to wearing anything else, her ensemble should be all black. She should also be heavily armed. She has killed before, so don't believe she will stop and think before she kills again. If you see her, don't think it necessary to try to bring her in alive. We certainly aren't if we…excuse me, I mean when we find her. Take care sir. Oh and by the way, you have a rose in you hair and thorns in your sleeve. Just thought I'd let you know. " With that, the band of men turned around and headed back into the woods.

Emmett just sat there, not sure what exactly he should do. He didn't know what to believe. Did he just help a murderer escape? Or was she innocent and being chased under false accusations? What ever it was, he wanted the truth. But he didn't see her anywhere.

Suddenly though, there was a hand on his shoulder and a small voice said,

"I guess I owe you and explanation after all." Ayden sat down beside him and staring at her hands, she began her story.

"I was fifteen when I met William. My mom left soon after I was born, and my dad had just recently died so I went to live at my best friends house. She had a family Christmas party that year and her cousin came. I had never seen him before, but I had heard her talk about him somewhat.

He was tall, and of good build. He had blonde hair that he mostly wore in a ponytail. He had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. You could look into them and see his soul. William was a poet, and quite good actually. He had high cheekbones, which only showed off his eyes even more…he had such beautiful eyes. They were so pure and always full of laughter. Anyway, we really got to know each other during the party. He loved to play with my hair. It used to be so long. It was down to my waist then.

After the party, he courted me. We would go on dates, and he would occasionally steal a kiss or two. They were so sweet, and so full of love and passion. And yet they were also tender and careful, as if he were afraid he would hurt me. That went on for two years, when finally, he got up enough courage to ask me to marry him. Poor thing, he was so nervous. He could barely speak. He ended up just falling to one knee and pulling out the ring. He didn't say a word, but you could tell. His eyes were so pleading. I said yes, of course and we got married. That was soon after my seventeenth birthday.

We went on our honeymoon that was supposed to be three weeks all to ourselves in a little cabin out in the woods where we could be all alone. Where we could just be each others.

It was amazing, but by the end of that that first night, King Rupert showed up on our door step saying that my dad had worked for him and since I just turned seventeen and was my fathers only child, I was obligated to take his place, now that I was old enough to be an adult. I told him no, I just got married; I didn't want to go off and work. But that was so completely the wrong thing to say.

The king got so angry that he grabbed a sword and held William at sword-point until I agreed to work for him. So for five years I worked for him…unfortunately as an assassin. I hated it, but if I even complained the tiniest bit he would hurt William. So I had no choice.

One day, about a year ago, I was sent to kill a man. I got there and I couldn't. He looked so much like my husband that I just stood there. Then his wife woke up, turned, saw me and screamed. I ran. When the king found out that I hadn't killed the man, he got angry. He came at me and began throwing knives. William, I guess, heard all this and came running. When he saw what was happening he jumped in front of me just as a knife came flying out of Rupert's hand. It struck him right through the heart. The king stood there in shock for a moment, but that was long enough. I grabbed William and ran with him. All my years of training had made me strong. So I ran as far as I could, then I just finally dropped. William was gasping for breath now.

I laid him on the ground and cradled his head in my arms, close to my heart. I was trying my hardest not to cry, not to let him see me cry. I needed to be strong for him…but I couldn't; tears came flowing out of my eyes and down onto his face. But he was brave.

He put his hand on my face and looked into my eyes. And with his last breath he told me he loved me. His hand slacked and he just lay there, not moving. All I did that night was hold him and cry. And when I had no more tears left to cry with, I just laid on him, resting my head where his heart should have been beating. But that morning I knew I couldn't just stay there for the rest of my life, so I buried him there. I already had everything that I would need for the road, so I left.

I didn't know that the king wanted me dead until now. So…great. But that is my story, and you now know the truth. Take it or leave it."

After saying this, Ayden looked up into Emmett's eyes. Her eyes were full to the brim with tears. And his were slightly red. The story he knew was true. He saw all the pain it had caused her and realized she had been out in the world alone. She didn't seem to have talked to another human in at least a year, and here she was, finally telling someone the whole story, finally letting go of such a big burden.

She was asking him if he wanted to stay with her, to help her evade the impending soldiers that looked for her. And, since he had nothing better to do…


	4. Chapter 4 - Roses and Thorns

Chapter 4

Roses and Thorns

"Okay, I think that's all of them." Emmett sighed.

"No, wait, there's one more." Ayden said, pulling the last thorn out of his shoulder.

"You know? I never really liked roses," he admitted, twirling one between his fingers. "And now I know why."

"Oh come on. One bad experience with them and your willing to give them up forever? That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Harsh or not, I think my 'point', isn't exactly 'pointless'. And anyway, they are always used for signifying love or some other such nonsense." Emmett answered.

"I see your point." Ayden said, holding a particularly sharp thorn close to her face so she could see it better. "But you know, different color roses mean different things. For instance the yellow one means friendship. The white one means innocence or silence. They all have several different meanings. The red one also means courage and respect. All you have to do is look a bit closer at things and they will surprise you. Sure, it's not always a pleasant one. But it's a surprise all the same."

"Ha-ha, alright. I wont give up on them completely…just yet. But I swear, if I find one more thorn on me, they are history."

"Suit yourself." She said. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the flower out of Emmett's hand and started picking the thorns off of it while twirling around as if dancing. "I'm partial to the yellow ones with the red tips myself."

"What does that one stand for?" Ayden didn't answer right away. She had her eyes closed and was remembering her first rose.

It was the night William had proposed to her and he had taken her to a dance. He gave her a single rose. While they were dancing William had whispered in her ear,

"The yellow stands for our friendship. That could never be broken no matter how hard anybody tried. And the red tips mean that I believe I have fallen in love with the most beautiful person in the entire universe. And she is right her. It's this wondrous creature that I am holding in my arms." Then he bent his head down and kissed her more passionately than he ever had before. But it was a kiss that people could see and think that they were nothing but a sweet, innocent couple in love. No one thought, "Get a room!" when they saw that kiss. They were envious that their partner didn't kiss them like that.

"You will have to figure that one out for yourself," she finally answered.

"Suit yourself," he said, copying her.

Emmett watched her twirl around for a moment then got up.

"If you don't mind, I think I'm going to see if I can find that breakfast that got away from you."

"Ah! You were the one that made me miss! If you weren't such a klutz I would have caught it!"

"Sure, sure. What ever stops the tears."

"Be nice, you're injured," she said, making fun of his puppy dog face he had tried on her earlier.

"Oh, no. I think you have that backwards. The injured don't have to be nice. It's the uninjured that have to be nice to the injured."

"Sure, sure. Whatever stops those tears! Now if you don't mind, I am going to see if I can find my arrow."

"Okay. Oh and do you mind if I get some things from your bag? If you have anything worth using in there that is," he shouted after her.

"That's fine!" she called back. "Just don't hurt yourself, and only get the things you know how to use!"

Rolling his eyes, Emmett went over to her bag. Looking inside it, he saw something that completely surprised him. This girl actually owned a dress!

Pushing that aside, he came to a box that had an assortment of knives in it. All shaped differently for the different types of prey.

Pulling out a shorter, more blunt one, he headed out into the woods in search of things he could use to make Ayden's fish taste better.

…

Finding her arrow stuck in the rocky bed of the creek, Ayden returned to her previous spot. Hoping that the commotion that had happened earlier hadn't frightened all the fish away for the day, she stood waiting.

Finally, her patience paid off, and an even larger fish than before came swimming idly up stream. Taking careful aim, she threw her arrow and finally caught her breakfast.

Picking up her prize, Ayden marched proudly back into camp, only to find that Emmett had already created a fire and had a broth simmering over it.

"So you are a cook?" she asked, eyeing the pot over the fire.

"Well, yeah. Kind of. Not really. Just, well…sort of. Aren't you?"

"I never really had the chance to learn. Willow's mom was a great cook so I guess I just took it for granted that I would always have good food. My dad was also pretty good at it."

"Who's Willow?"

"Hmm? Oh, Willow was my best friend that I stayed with when my dad died."

"Oh okay. You hadn't mentioned her name before so I was just a little confused."

"Yep, that's Willow."

…

Two weeks passed uneventfully before Ayden had the courage to ask Emmett about himself.

"So, now that you know all about my past, what about yours? I know nothing about you."

"Well my story is nothing like yours. I never knew my father. My mother was an excellent baker and did it as a living. She died though, three years ago; she had always been sort of sickly. So I took over my moms business and watched over my sister, Aria. There never was a girl around there for me. But all the boys absolutely loved my sister. They thought she was something else. She had her sights on one of them, but she would always blush real hard if I started talking to her about him. But that is my story. Not very exciting."

"You know, if you want, we could try to find out why your town was attacked. I mean, we have nothing better to do."

"Well, I don't know. I don't think I really want to know either."

"It doesn't matter to me. But I just thought you might like to actually be doing something. Something other than just sitting here."

"Yeah, I guess. I just don't know if I can go back there." he shuddered.

"Did the horses have anything on them? Or did the men shout anything like, 'In the name of so and so, I kill you!' or something along those lines?"

"Well that's the thing. I was half asleep. My sister was just killed. I wasn't really paying attention to details at the moment."

"I understand. But maybe if we go back, we can figure out who did this."

"You seem pretty eager to go."

"I'm so tired of running and hiding. I'm tired of having to relive my past over and over in my dreams. I want to do good. Do right. Can't you see that, Emmett? My past scares me. I hate it; it haunts me. I have killed so many people. I want to do something right for a change. Something that will help, not destroy."

"I get what you mean. But what if this doesn't help me. Ayden, what if this destroys me? Did you think about that? Okay, what if it was someone in the town that had caused the attack? Hmm? What if it was someone I knew? How do you think that would make me feel? Sure, it might help…but it could also destroy."

"You're right," she sighed. "I didn't realize how different endings would effect you. I'm sorry."

"Well, you know what we could do if you are all itching to be the hero? We could go try to right the wrongs you did. We could try to find Willow and explain why you disappeared. We could find some of the family members of the people you…um, well you know."

"Yeah, but what if they don't want apologies? What if they want revenge? And Willow. She might not understand. I left without a warning. The last time I saw her was when she was in her maid of honor dress at my wedding. The next thing she knows is that her cousin and her best friend has disappeared. I don't know if she knows William is dead yet, but she probably does. And by now she thinks that I killed him and that her best friend is a wanted murderer on the run. I don't know what I would do if she tried to turn me in or something."

"Well you never know until we try, now do you?"

"No, I guess not."

"Good! Then it's settled. When do you want to start out?"

"Well first of all…first of all where are we?

"My town was called Fantôme Cheval."

"Ghost Horse?"

"Yeah. When the town was first started, the man who founded it said that every night, you could see a horse standing on the same hill. There is a ledged that goes with the town. It says that a traveler by the name of Pier was looking for a place to settle his family. One night it had suddenly gotten chilly and foggy. Pier was ridding his horse through the fog and didn't see the edge of a cliff. The horse started to slip, but jumped up just in time to keep from falling. Unfortunately the rider fell over.

The founder of the town said that the horse that he saw every night was still out looking for his rider. And he said that if the wind blew just right you could still hear Pier calling for his stallion, 'Rentrer á la maison Minuit Sombre! Rentrer á la maison á Marie!' or in English, 'Go home Dark Midnight! Go home to Marie!' Dark

Midnight was the horses name."

"Wow. That is really cool. Is that story true?"

"I don't know. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't."

"Do you speak fluent French?"

"Oui, mademoiselle. Ich spreche auch Deutsch, e Italiano."

"You are a man of many words. Aren't you?

"Si signora, io sono."

"Okay, you kind of lost me at the last part of that. And what was that second language you spouted out?"

"Ha-ha, ah German. And I said, yes lady, I am."

"Wow, right. You are going to be my official translator from now on."

"Geldbuße von mir."

"But, only talk in English to me."

"Alright."

"What was that you said?"

"Fine by me."

"Oh okay. So…if we are near Fantôme Cheval, and Willow lives in L'eau Douce Vallée, then we should be a couple weeks away on foot. But we should probably freshen up before we go anywhere."

"She lives in Sweet Water Valley? I've always wanted to go there.

They are supposed to have the sweetest water in the world…hence the name, I guess."

"So that's what the name means, Sweet Water Valley."

"You've lived there half your life and you didn't know what the name meant?"

"Well no, not exactly. I was never really good at languages."

"Pitiful excuse. Anyone can learn."

"Yes, but not all of us want to. Anyway, if we want to find Willow soon, I suggest that we find a semi large town where we can freshen up and try to change our appearances. I for one am a wanted murderer, so I must change my looks before they start hanging up wanted signs."

"What do you plan on doing?"

"Maybe dye my hair and get a couple of newer dresses. Mine is rather wrinkled and I look kind of conspicuous in black clothes. And you, my friend, need a bath."

"Fine. The nearest city is Cité d'Émeradue. We can find a hotel and…wait we don't have any money."

"Speak for yourself. Working for the king, I got paid. And I usually kept my money on me. I was ready for anything. And I got bonuses. Well, Rupert didn't exactly know about that…he gave me money to use for my traveling, but I never used it except to buy some food occasionally. I would sleep in the woods, sharpen my weapons at the castle, and my clothes came from there too, so I was set. And I got to keep a lot of extra cash that way."

"Okay, so now we have money. But what do you plan to do? Waltz into a city looking like a couple of runaways? That's not going to go over very well."

"Don't worry, I have a story. I always do."


	5. Chapter 5 - Old and New

Chapter 5

Old and New

Even in a big city, news travels fast. The latest news being a young couple just walked into the city.

They were really dirty and looked as if they had spent a couple of nights on the ground. They claimed that their bags had been strapped to their horses when the horses got spooked a couple nights ago and ran off, leaving them stranded.

They said that they were brother and sister, but nobody seemed to believe that. The man was about six feet tall, broad shoulders, hair as black as midnight, and had brown eyes. The woman was probably about five foot six inches tall, and had short, blond hair. She looked like she could take care of herself though. They always talked in hushed tones, as if they were on some kind of secret mission and couldn't risk being over heard. But when they did talk to others, they were always really polite.

"Yeah sure. I've got a room. You two are lucky, I just have one room left. 'Course its only got one bed. Will that be alright with you, miss?"

"Um, is there any place in the city that has two beds available?"

"Sorry ma'am, this is the only hotel."

"It'll work." Emmett decided, and turning to Ayden, he said, "It will be fine, but if you want to get your hair fixed, then I suggest that you hurry. It's kind of late and I'm pretty sure these places won't stay open for much longer."

"You're right, of course." And facing the man again she said, "We'll take the room. And, if you don't mind, is there a place I can go for my hair? I've always been the odd one in my family, what with my blonde hair. And I was wondering if a city this size has a place I can get it dyed?"

"Yes ma'am, there is a place, just two buildings down, in fact. It's on the opposite side of the street though. Next to a bakers shop and across from a tailors store."

"Thank you so much. How much is the room?"

"That depends on how long you plan on staying, missy."

"Well, I guess a week at the most, but I'm not completely sure."

"How about I charge you by the day. You just pay the rent on the room every day so that way, when you want to leave you don't have to worry about getting extra money to or from me. Sound like a winner?"

"Yes sir. That sounds good!" After handing the man the money, she and Emmett turned to the door and headed for the building that the man had pointed out.

They found the right building and walked in, not quite knowing what to expect. They saw a girl in her mid thirties sitting in a chair in front of a mirror. Noticing her visitors she got up and started walking towards them.

"So you guys are the new couple in town, am I right?" she looked at them skeptically, as if she didn't exactly believe they were brother and sister either.

"How can I help you?"

"Well, as you can obviously tell, I look nothing like my brother here. I was always the odd one in my family. We live in a small town from across the border and we don't have a place that can put color in my hair. I've decided that I want my hair to be black, like the rest of my family. But also, I was wondering, if I like it, could you give me some more of the color that would last me about a year or two?"

"Sure honey. I don't see what you have against your hair, though. Its beautiful the way it is."

"That's what I keep telling her, but she is insistent that she fit in." Emmett said, squinting down at Ayden.

"I told you I want to do this. Oh, and do you have anything that would make my hair longer?"

"Sure do. I just got extensions in from Paris a couple of days ago. Course all of this is going to cost you a pretty penny."

"That's alright. I think I can pay for it all. I just want it down to my shoulders. Well, as long as you can get it without it looking fake."

"Sure sweetie. Just sit right here and I will see what I can do." The woman patted the chair and got to work on Ayden.

When she was through, the girl sitting in the chair was hardly recognizable as the one who came out of a forest just a few hours ago all dirty and bedraggled. While she had been getting her makeover, Emmett had stepped out to look at the clothes in the shop across the street. As he walked back in, he looked around for a moment not seeing Ayden. Finally realizing the girl with the long black hair was her, all he could do was stare.

"So what do you think?" she asked timidly.

"Well…you look more like me."

"Yeah, but does it look natural?"

"Yes. It does. It's beautiful."

"Are you being serious or are you just saying that just to please me?" she said, glaring at him.

"No, I'm serious. It looks really good."

"Okay," she sighed, satisfied. "Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?"

"Um…60 dollars."

"Sixty?" Emmett asked, appalled.

"Yes sir, sixty."

"Here you go. And thanks again." Ayden said, handing the woman the money without even flinching.

"Your welcome dear. Come again!"

Walking back to the hotel, Emmett started talking fast.

"Where in the world did you come up with all that money? You just paid sixty bucks for hair that isn't even yours!"

"You don't like it?" Ayden asked, running her fingers through her newly lengthened hair.

"What? Oh, no you hair is fine. What I mean is where in the world did you get all that money? You act as if you had money to burn."

"Hmm? I told you. I saved up most all the money that I had ever earned. And, working for the king actually had a few benefits. One of them being I was never short on cash. I've collected about five thousand dollars throughout the years."

Emmett stopped short and pulled in a sharp breath through his teeth.

"What?" he squeaked, his eyes bulging. That's more than I would have made in ten years!"

"Well, I'm not a blacksmith in a small town, Emmett. I worked for the king. That pays just a little bit better."

"Obviously," he snorted.

"Hey, come on. What's mine is yours. Now come on, lets get back to the hotel. Wait, we need clothes. Did you find any that you liked?"

Turning around, the two went back to the tailors shop. There they bought five outfits each. Ayden's outfits included four dresses and one pant ensemble.

After getting back to the hotel, they faced a new problem. One bed.

"I have a solution." Ayden announce after a moment. "I still have my mat that I used in the woods. I can sleep on that and you can take the bed. How's that sound?"

"You're obviously not thinking clearly if you think I'm going to let a woman sleep on the floor and I get the bed. That's insane. Unheard of. Impossible! It goes against everything us men stand for!"

"You know, I have a problem with chivalry. The last time someone was chivalrous to me, they got killed."

"This is a choice between sleeping in a bed or on the floor. I don't think either choice is fatal."

"Fine, I have an idea. We'll flip a coin. Heads, I win. Tails you loose. Okay?"

"Fine."

"Okay, here we go." Ayden flipped the coin. Oh, look at that! Heads, I win. Which means…I sleep on the floor. Alright?"

"Fine." he grumbled.

After that, they finally fell asleep, Ayden comfortably on the floor and Emmett on the bed. In the middle of the night though, Emmett shot straight up.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Heads you win, and tails I loose? You did that on purpose!"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ayden yawned and rolled over sleepily.

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. You get your skinny behind into this bed right now before I kick it in. I will take the floor." but as he started to get up Ayden said, "We'll switch out tomorrow, Emmett. Right now lets just go back to sleep." and with that she fell back into unconsciousness and slept peacefully till morning.

Ayden awoke the next day fully rested and ready to go. Emmett, on the other hand, woke slightly grouchy.

"What's the matter, grumpy guts?" Ayden prodded.

"My conscious kept me up all night, telling me…no yelling at me to get up out of the bed and put you into it. But I knew you really wouldn't like that, so I didn't and fought with that shouting voice in my head all night. I didn't get a wink of sleep."

"Aw I'm sorry you are such a gentleman. Poor you, not a bit of sleep in the warm, comfortable bed, and yet here I was sleeping like a baby on the floor. What a strange world this is."

"Strange indeed." he muttered back.

"Any-hoo time for a bit of breakfast, dontcha think?"

"Yeah sure, whatever."

"Oh come on. I am so not going to put up with an attitude all day, so snap out of it mister or you are staying here."

"Humph. What exactly are you planning to do today?" Emmett asked, eyeing the bags that lay empty on the floor.

"I am going to get supplies for a long trip…if we are going to try and find Willow, we might need a lot of food. She lives in L'eau Douce Vallèe, so we got a ways to go."

"What other kind of supplies are you after?" he asked warily.

"Oh you know, shoes that won't fall apart, a couple horses…weapons…and you know, other odd things." she answered hesitantly.

"Wait, horses?" Emmett asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. You didn't think we would actually walk the whole way, did you? Travelers on foot draw too much attention to themselves. We need horses."

"Okay…wait, weapons? What do you need those for? I thought you already had some?"

"I do, but I need to get them sharpened. What weapon is it you prefer to use?"

"I don't really know. I've never actually had to use one. But I was pretty good at using my cross-bow to hunt with."

"What did you hunt?"

"You know…deer, turkey, quail…the usual meat animals."

"Okay, when we go get the weapons I'll take you along so we can find you the perfect cross-bow.

"Um, I'd rather not. I'm not exactly comfortable with you just spending money on silly things like that." as soon as those words came out of his mouth, Emmett knew that he had said the wrong thing. Ayden looked kind of shocked and was shaking her head as she explained.

"Emmett, weapons are not silly things. They are for your protection and for your protection only. There are several thieves along the road from here to L'eau Douce, also, the king is looking for me and is going to try to kill me. He doesn't think I'm dumb enough to try and go back there, but that wont keep him from still looking. I myself don't exactly know why I'm going back, but I have a feeling its to keep you from moping and whining about my camp."

Raising his hands in a surrendering gesture, Emmett answered, "Alright, weapons it is. And I don't mope or wine."

"Sure you don't. Lets go." Ayden said, rolling her eyes.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Emmett followed her.

Finding the store was easy, but dragging Ayden out was hard. The girl loved the weapons, especially the swords.

"They are the proper weapon." She explained on the way, "You can battle, kill, warn, or just spar with them."

After finally finding a good crossbow for himself, Emmett found Ayden mesmerized by a sword in a glass case. At first glance, he couldn't tell what was so special about it, but on closer inspection he could see what she found so appealing. The hilt had an intricate pattern on it that reminded him of vines and leaves, twisting around a tree. It was made of stainless steal and had a thin line of gold inlaid in the pattern. Small jewels were also incrusted in the hilt. The blade was folded steal. So well made was the sword that there didn't seem to be the slightest imperfection in it.

Ayden was practically drooling on the case.

"I don't need another sword. I don't need another sword. I don't need another sword," she whispered to herself over and over. Hearing Emmett approach, she finally turned away with a sigh.

"I don't need another sword. Did you find what you needed?" she asked.

Instead of answering her, he raised his eyebrows and glanced pointedly at the sword.

"Its just a really fine piece of workmanship. You would be a fool not to admire it. And, you didn't answer my question. Did you find what you needed?"

Glancing at the sword one last time, Emmett raised the crossbow that he had found.

"I believe so. The owner let me take a few practice shots with it. I hit the bulls eye every time," he said, pride glinting in his eyes.

"Ha, alright Robin Hood, lets go pay for it. Then we will look into some horses." flipping her now long, back hair, Ayden headed over to the shop owner so she could pay him.

By the end of the day, Emmett had narrowly avoided getting kicked by an ill-tempered Arabian horse, the one that, of course, Ayden chose as her own.

Emmett chose a sweet little Pinto as his. Their names were Ace and Rose. They had also successfully found enough non-perishable food to last them for around three weeks, and enough horse feed to last for four weeks. They also found a couple of saddlebags that were big enough for all of their food and clothing. Emmett found a mat for him to sleep on as well.

"I think we should leave in the morning," Ayden said before she rolled over on the bed, as Emmett had vehemently refused to sleep on the bed. When Ayden finally gave in and slid under the covers of the soft, warm bed, she sighed. She had not slept in a bed for a little over a year.


	6. Chapter 6 - Truth and Lies

Chapter 6

Truth and Lies

They woke at dawn. Gathering their things quietly, they tiptoed to the counter and left their money for the last day. Saddling their horses, they started their long journey in silence.

The first few days passed quiet and uneventful, and not many words went between the two companions. By the end of the first week, they had traveled a good fifty miles.

"You couldn't have lived in a farther city, could you?" Emmett asked one night.

"We are traveling much faster than I would have thought," mused Ayden. "I'm glad we decided to get the horses. At this rate we should be there in a couple of days."

"And where exactly does this friend of yours live?"

"Well, if she still lives where she did, Willow will be close to the outer wall of the city. Her house was different from everybody else's house around there. It was made of grey stone instead of the red brick that people now use. Her house was built before any of the others, so you should be able to spot it pretty easily."

"Ok, good to know."

The next day they began to feel slightly less like they were being chased and built a fire that night.

"With any luck, we should be there by tomorrow afternoon." Ayden said, toasting Emmett.

"Finally! I've never been this long without a decent meal or a bath!" he exclaimed.

They feasted like kings that night, laughing and joking, never thinking that they might be in danger; not realizing that they were being watched by King Rupert's men.

…

"That man means nothing. Don't try to kill him unless he gets in your way. He is not trained in combat like the woman. Wait until they fall asleep, then take her out."

The men waited in silence, hoping that they would fall asleep soon.

…

Finally, Ayden put out the fire and they fell into a deep slumber. Suddenly, she woke up with a knife to her throat and a hand over her mouth. She looked around wildly, trying to figure out who these people were, but a voice started speaking in her ear.

"Now you know what it is like, to wake up with a knife to your throat; death staring you in the face. How does it feel?"

Ayden tried to scream, but the man jerked her head to the side. She saw Emmett, still asleep, but with another man sanding over him with a knife over his throat.

"One sound, and he dies."

Nodding, Ayden closed her eyes and clenched her teeth tight together. She felt the cold steel of the blade slide down her neck and the man whispered, "A sudden death would be to good for you, why don't you suffer, like your husband did."

Taking the knife, the man thrust the blade into her abdomen, twisted it, and knocked her unconscious.

Satisfied that they had done their job, the men left to return to the king. But the man who had been holding a knife over Emmett accidentally bumped into him as he left, waking him slightly, but no one noticed.

When Emmett fully woke up, he rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep. But he heard quiet voices retreating from their camp. He sat up slowly and looked around. The people who had just been there had already gone deep into the forest, and could no longer be seen. At first glance, everything seemed to be normal. Ayden was quiet so the didn't seem to have awakened her, the horses were still asleep where they had left them, and none of their bags seemed to have been rifled through.

But he looked again at Ayden and noticed that there was something sticking up from her stomach.

"Ayden." he whispered. "Ayden!" he scrambled over to her and took her head in his hands.

"Ayden, come on. Wake up! Ayden!" jumping up, Emmett took all of their luggage and loaded it on Rose.

"Listen Rose, you can come or not, its your choice. But if you come, you are going to have to run, girl."

Emmett ran back over to Ayden, lifted her up onto Ace, and got on behind her.

"Alright Ace, looks like we are going to have to find Willows house without our guide. Yah!"

Emmett rode almost non-stop all day, with Ayden hardly holding on. Thankfully she was not loosing too much blood. He had removed the knife from her stomach and also removed his shirt so he could have something to use to put pressure on the wound so that it would not open too much and cause her to bleed to death.

Stopping only a short while to let the horse rest, he made it to L'eau Douce Vallée by sunset, getting stopped only once at the gate.

"Stop!" the guard had cried in a heavy Irish accent. "What is your business here?"

"Please, my um, sister was injured by… robbers. I need to get her help. Please." His hesitation went unnoticed by the guard. It seemed as though he was scared and out of breath, instead of stammering and trying to come up with a story that wouldn't get them thrown in jail.

"Very well, go on about your business."

Without giving the man a second glance, Emmett rode into the city, searching for the house that Ayden had described. Soon, he found it.

Grabbing Ayden, he cradled her in his arms as he walked to the door and knocked. A petit woman about Ayden's age answered.

"Can I help you?" she asked, but stopped short and gasped when she realized what was in Emmett's arms.

"Yeah, could you help me help her?"

"Well, I'm not exactly qualified to officially help with this, but there is a physician near by. I could get him if you liked. What happened?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't want a physician. I'm looking for a girl named Willow? She knows this girl and I only want her to help."

"That's me. But who is she? I don't believe I know her, or you for that matter."

"Time is wasting, will you help or not?"

"Oh, of course. Bring her in and lay her there, on the couch. I'll get some supplies." Willow said as she ran around trying to make sure that the girl was comfortable.

"Thank you." and that was all Emmett said as he laid Ayden on the couch and watched Willow as she slowly drew his shirt away from Ayden's stomach.

She worked in silence and finally finished on the unconscious girl lying on her couch.

"Will she be ok? Is she going to wake up soon?" Emmett finally asked.

"Yes, she will be fine. But I don't know when she will wake up. Now, maybe you could tell me who this…" As Willow was speaking she moved up to look at the face of the girl that she had just saved. She had not seen that face in years.

"Oh…my…gosh…who are you? And how did you find her? And what happened?!"

"Which do you want me to answer first?" Emmett said hesitantly.

"What happened?" Willow was staring at Ayden's face as if she were a ghost.

"We were coming to find you when some men came into our camp and did this to her. I have no idea why… no wait, I do. It must have been the kings' men. They have been hunting her down for a while."

"What? Why? And why were you trying to find me?"

"She was worried about you, and she also wanted you to know that she wasn't the one who had killed William."

"What?" Willow looked up at Emmett, tears starting to form in her eyes. "William is dead?"

"Oh…um…yeah. Sorry, she thought you knew."

"No, I didn't know. The last I had heard from them was their wedding. I always wondered what had happened to them. But… William, he can't be dead. Why is he dead?"

"I think that is something Ayden will have to answer herself when she wakes up."

"Who are you?" Willow asked. Tears were streaming down her face as she gazed back down at Ayden.

"My name is Emmett. She kind of saved me a while back, so I stuck with her. My town was attacked and I was the only survivor. I didn't have anywhere else to go, so she let me tag along."

Ayden woke later that night after Emmett had already fallen asleep.

"Ayden? Are you ok? How do you feel?" Willow asked quietly.

"Willow? Wait, how did I get here?"

"That man Emmett brought you. You should have seen him, I've never seen a man look so scared before in his life."

"Willow, I have to tell you something. I know you may think that I did it, but you've got to believe me when I tell you that I didn't. We were happy, and I loved William. I didn't kill him." she turned her head to look at Willow as she said this and saw that beneath her tears, Willow looked confused.

"That's what Emmett was telling me. But why is William dead? What happened? And why in the world would I think that you killed him?"

Ayden sighed, then started her story, the same one she had told Emmett.

"So you thought that if the king told me that you had killed William, I would have believed him? I never would have thought that, not even for a minuet."

"I'm glad. I truly loved him. And I would never have hurt him."

"Yeah, I know. Now, what about this Emmett guy? Are you…like, you know…?"

"What? No, no, no, no, no…not at all. It's nothing that that…at all." Ayden declared, glaring at Willow. "Not at all."

"Well then you don't mind if I go for him? This town is in low supply of cute, available guys."

"Oh, um no…go ahead." Ayden answered.

"Ayden, I know you better than you know yourself. You like him, admit it."

"No, after what happened to William, I don't think that I could ever love again. My heart is still his, even after all this time. And even if I did move on, what's to keep the same thing from happening again? I don't think I could stand it. I am still broken, and no one, especially Emmett, deserves broken pieces." But under Willows unrelenting gaze, she broke.

"Ok, so he is really good looking, and really sweet; but still, no. Where is he, anyway?"

"You'll come to your senses soon enough." was all Willow said in reply before Emmett walked in.

"Come to her senses about what? That is a hard thing to make her do, so I've heard. Good to see you're awake finally. How are you feeling? You need anything?"

Ayden's eyes widened just a little bit when she saw him. "Oh gosh." she thought, and checked to make sure she wasn't drooling.

"No thanks Emmett, I'm fine for the moment. What happened? How did you get here? And where is your shirt?" the last she asked hesitantly, because in all honesty, she really didn't mind him without one.

"My shirt was bloody, so I really didn't feel like putting that back on just yet. And I was going to ask you the same thing, what happened? But uh, I loaded all of our stuff onto Rose and took off with you on Ace."

"You put all our stuff on Rose?! What happened to her? My money, our weapons, everything was on her! And didn't you just get a couple new shirts?"

"Whoa! Calm down! She followed us here. She's a smart horse. And oh yeah, I forgot about that." Emmett put up his hands in defense.

"Oh good. You scared me." Ayden sighed. Then she looked at him again.

"Why don't you go put a shirt on?" Ok, she was pushing that fact just a little bit, and Willow seemed to catch the hidden meaning behind her being all flustered. But she didn't say anything; she just gave her a funny look from behind his back.

"I'll put one on in a minuet. You know, I'm not that big of an idiot, if she hadn't followed us, then once I got you here safely, I would have gone back to get her. Now, what happened to you?" he asked, his eyes softening as he leaned towards her. For a moment, he thought about brushing aside a loose strand of hair on her face, but thought against it, then sat down instead.

"Well, I woke up with a knife against my throat and…"

"What!" Emmett interrupted, standing up again. "Why didn't you scream?"

"I was getting to that," she answered, glaring at him for the interruption as he sat back down. "Anyway, as I was saying…I awoke with a knife to my throat, and tried to scream. I started to actually, but the man jerked my head to the side and said that if I scream he would…um, he would kill the uh…horse. So I didn't, and that was the last thing I remember." Ayden looked down as she fumbled over her feeble lie. Surly, she thought, surly they could see through her. As she hesitantly looked up, she was surprised to find Emmett staring at her in disbelief and anger. She recoiled from this unexpected fury.

"You didn't scream…because he would have killed the horse!? Are you insane?" He glared at her, his face red. And she could almost imagine smoke pouring from his nose.

"Well, I uh…really like that horse, I didn't want him to die." She answered quietly, glancing at Willow. Tears glinted in Ayden's eyes and her face turned a bright shade of red. Willow saw the signs and knew their meaning, but they went unnoticed by Emmett in his rage.

"So you thought that I was being careless when I put all our things onto a horse and hoped she would follow us, so I could save your life…when you would so easily give that up so the horse wouldn't die! Unbelievable! You are…ugh!" Emmett stormed out of the room, not taking the time to glance back.

"Well, that didn't go as planned." Ayden announced.

"Ha, oh really? And what did you plan?" Willow asked.

"I expected him to see straight through my really bad lie, realize that I didn't want him to feel responsible for me nearly getting killed, but also realize that he is the reason that I was nearly killed. I didn't scream so they wouldn't kill him. That's what I expected."

"Well that is certainly not what happened."

"No duh." Ayden said, rolling her eyes. She sighed as she said, "You were right, as usual. Hey, maybe you could…no, never mind."

"What?" Willow prodded.

"No, it's silly."

"Oh, come on, it cant be that bad." Willow leaned forward, expectantly.

"Well…do you remember when we were little, and there was a cute guy that one of us liked? And how we would get the one of us to go talk to him and try to find out if he liked us too?"

"Yeah, why? Wait…oh no…ooohhh no, no, no, no. No. I am not going to go try to find out if Emmett has a 'crush' on you. Ha you can forget that. Ayden we are not little kids anymore, that kind of stuff won't work."

"Please? You never know till you try. Come on, for old times sake? Please?"

"Alright, but what will you do with the answer? If he says yes, are you willing to start another relationship? You told me just a few minuets ago that you weren't. You also said that you were still broken, and he doesn't deserve broken pieces. What if he says no? Hmm? Are you just going to look past it and claim that it was only a silly crush?

Or are you going to get hurt?"

"Your right…again." Ayden sighed.

"I guess it would be best for me just to let him be in control. If he has any kind of feelings for me, he should be the one to tell me. I shouldn't have to get my friend to weasel information out of him and then pounce on him myself. If he wants to be with me, he will let me know; and if he doesn't…well, that will also become known."

"Exactly. Pushing the guy before he is ready hardly ever works out."

Willow confirmed. "But if it helps, I think he really cares for you. You should have seen him when he first showed up on my doorstep with you in his arms. The guy was frantic. And then his reaction to your story just confirms it. He likes you, just give him time."

"Really? Do tell…what was he like?" and Ayden settled herself into the couch as Willow began to describe to her what she had seen.


	7. Chapter 7 - Betrayed

Chapter 7

Betrayed

"What in the world had that girl been thinking?" Emmett thought to himself, as he paced the floor.

Ayden had just told him the story of what had happened to her, and he couldn't believe it. Why in the world would she risk her life for a horse? That just didn't make any sense. There had to be more to the story, but he just couldn't figure out what.

Soon he decided that he needed air, so he left out the back door, grabbed a shirt from their bag, and wandered aimlessly around the village. He had not told either of the girls that he was leaving, and neither of them had heard him go. They were still to busy talking.

As he was wandering the streets, he ran into the guard that had let him into the city.

"Is your sister ok?" the man asked.

"My sister?" Emmett asked, confused. How did this man know about Aria?

"Yes, the girl you carried into the city this morning. How is she doing?"

"Oh, my sister!" He realized that the man was talking about Ayden.

"Ah, she is fine. Thanks for asking. She woke up about an hour ago."

"Wonderful. Maybe I should pay her a visit. Is she still at the doctors home?"

"What? Oh, no. See we have a friend here that is good with medicine and that sort of thing. I just took her straight there. Well, thank you for your concern, but I really have to be going. I came to find some food," he said that spontaneously, hoping to get rid of the guard, but the moment the words were out of his mouth, a noise from his stomach confirmed his statement.

"Well I certainly hope your friend knows what she is doing. And did you say you are trying to find some food? Have you had dinner yet? Have you ever been here before? If not I could show you where to find the best meals around."

"She does, and no I have not been here before. And you really don't have to do that. My money is limited. If it is the best meals around, then I'm pretty sure I won't be able to afford it, sorry. Thanks though." Emmett nodded his head to the guard and started to walk off, when the guard caught him by the shoulder. Emmett froze; his thoughts were going a thousand miles an hour, worrying, and hoping they hadn't been caught.

"Oh, but I insist. I was just about to get some dinner anyway, and the meal would be free. It's the Mrs. that makes the best meals around, so I usually get them free of charge."

"That is very generous of you, but there is no way I could allow that. I don't like being indebted to people."

"No, no. You misunderstand me. I am sure you must be under a lot of stress with what just happened to your sister. I know you must be hungry. This is my treat. I want you to have a good experience here, and a good first meal is a great way to start. I know, I don't know you and you don't know me, but please. Let an old man do some good for some one. It's not often that company comes along for people like me."

"Well," Emmett hesitated. Then his stomach made a noise that made up his mind. "Ok, I would really appreciate it. Thank you."

"You're welcome my young friend. Now tell me, what is your name?"

"I'm Emmett, and you are?" he answered, giving the man a skeptical look.

"Daniel. It's nice to meet you," he said as he stuck out his gnarled hand.

"It's nice to meet you too." Emmett answered as he stuck out his own hand and shook the old mans.

…

"Hey Ayden? Why is your hair black? It used to be blonde," Willow randomly asked.

"Yeah…it had to be changed. I told you how the guards are coming after me, right? Well, in the forest, they had asked Emmett if he had seen a woman with short, blonde hair, so I had to change all that."

"What a shame." Willow mourned. "That was one of Williams favorite things about you, mine too." she started playing with Ayden's hair.

"Yeah, I know, mine too." for a moment, the girls sat in comfortable silence, until Ayden's stomach rumbled.

"Ha, ok food for the cripple!" Willow cried, jumping up from her perch on the arm of the couch. "Where's Emmett? I bet he's hungry too."

"Oh you know what? You should let him cook, he's amazing." Ayden commented.

"Really? Well there isn't that much you can do in my kitchen, but he can give it a try if he is willing."

"Trust me, if he can make whatever it was in the forest we found taste good, I'm sure he can make whatever you have taste great! Ha ha." she grinned at the though of Emmett in an actual kitchen. Somehow, she just couldn't picture him cooking over anything but a fire pit in the middle of the forest.

"We will just have to find out, now where did he go?" Willow said, as she walked through her small home. She returned to Ayden with a quizzical look. "He's gone."

"What?" Ayden bolted upright. "Where? When? Why? What happened?" she looked frantically around as she tried to get up, but fell back and doubled over in pain.

"Whoa! What do you think you are trying to do?" Willow exclaimed as she helped her friend to lie back down.

"I've got to find him! He has no idea where he is, and the kings' men are looking for me! I'm sure by now they have figured out that he is with me! I've got to find him!" she grunted with pain as she attempted to get up again, only to fall back down.

"Ayden, stay right here. You will only hurt your chances of full recovery if you try and move. I will go find him, don't worry. He will be fine. I will find him." she gave Ayden a stern look as she emphasized the last sentence. "Stay here."

"Please hurry, I don't want anything to happen to him," she whispered to her friend as she rushed out the door.

But sitting and waiting wasn't going to well for Ayden. It had been about ten minuets, and she was trying to get up again. She made it this time, and had almost gotten to the front door, when she heard the back door open.

"Emmett?" she called.

…

"This is amazing!" Emmett said, with his mouth full of apple pie. He hadn't eaten food like this since his mom passed.

"I'm glad you like it," Daniels wife, Sara, beamed.

"It's an old secret family recipe," Daniel started to say, but was interrupted when his wife playfully slapped him upside the head.

"Oh don't start with that again," she laughed. "I just stumbled across it a few years ago. Now, I won't share my secret on what I did, but I had been making this pie without something. Then one day, I just decided to add a little something extra and ta-da! The perfect apple pie!" she grinned.

"Well, what ever you did to this, it's wonderful." Emmett commented.

Suddenly, there was a loud banging on the door.

"Now, I wonder who that could be…" Daniel mumbled as he went to answer the door. The minuet he opened it, Willow fell in, talking ninety miles an hour.

"Oh good, your home. I have a friend, who visited me today, but he kind of wandered off, and now I can't find him anywhere! I searched all over town for him. He looks like that man there, eating your pie, except the last time I saw him, he didn't have a shirt on. And he…wait a second, Emmett! What are you doing here?"

All eyes turned toward Emmett, and he sat still for a moment, with a fork full of pie suspended in mid-air, half way to his partially opened mouth. Everything but his eyes had frozen, as he gazed at one face to another, but that only lasted for a moment, then he composed himself and answered the frantic Willow.

"Well, I got a little frustrated, and decided to go view the town. Daniel ran into me and invited me to come eat with him. So I accepted his offer. Wait, did you just leave Ay…my sister alone?"

"Oh ok, well don't do that any more! Yes, she is at home, and worried sick about you! Sorry to storm in and run, Sara, but I really have to get him back home with me."

"I'm afraid you can't leave yet, Willow dear." Sara said, in a timid voice.

"Why not?" Emmett asked, suspicion rising again.

"I am truly sorry about all this." Daniel said, clearing his throat.

"About what?" Willow questioned. Doubt and mistrust started to cloud her face.

"Well, you know how we keep a log of everyone who comes into the city, and it gets turned into the king every few hours, with the change of the guard?" the old man started.

"Yes…" Willow hesitated, before realization started to dawn on her face. "Oh Daniel! You didn't!"

"I had no choice, Will!" He cried out.

"What? What happened?" Emmett asked, confused.

"The king knows you and your sister are here. He told me to find you with any means necessary and hold you for a few hours. I don't know why, he just wanted that to happen. I didn't see any harm in it."

"Daniel, they aren't brother and sister…you remember Ayden, don't you?"

"Yeah, why? What does she have to do with this?"

"That was Ayden. You just gave Ayden over to Rupert!" Willow almost shouted in the old mans' face. Shocked, Daniel sank slowly into his chair.

"But…. I don't…. why does the king want Ayden?"

"She was sent on a mission a while back and did not kill her targeted person. Rupert then killed her husband, blamed it on her, and she ran." Emmett explained. "He's been after her ever since."

"He wants to kill her, Daniel."


	8. Chapter 8 - Stories and Dreams

Chapter 8

Stories and Dreams

"Finally." A cruel voice sounded in the dark. "Finally, after all these longs months…finally, I have caught you."

Ayden tried to stand up, but found her wrists were shackled low to the damp stone wall, preventing her from moving almost completely; though lifting her head was hard enough, given the pain it caused her to move it in the slightest.

"Awww…cat got your tongue?" Ayden felt a hand slip under her chin. She was forced to lift her head and face her captor. "Surely you remember me."

Ayden glared at the man. She seethed with hatred; anyone could feel it practically seeping from her. Not a word she said, as much as it killed her to stay silent in his presence. She would not give him the satisfaction.

"Oh come now, girl. Do you not have, maybe one – or two – words for your old employer? No? Well, all the better, I suppose. I have plenty in store for you, my dear."

Ayden's warden patted her back as he rose. He stood for a moment, looking at her, then started pacing the floor.

"You know, I hear you were doing quite well for yourself. What did you do, sell yourself out to be a free-lance assassin? Isn't that the only thing you're good at? Oh wait, I forgot. You're not even good at that, are you? You can't do the simplest of tasks." Chuckling, he bent down in front of her again. Running his finger down the side of her face, he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "That's why he died, you know. He threw himself in front of the knife just so he could get away from your pathetic weakness. He couldn't stand pretending for you another night; he had had enough. Your William never loved you. He only pretended, and he got fed up with the game."

"You lie!" Ayden lashed out.

"Ha ha ha…so you do talk! I was beginning to wonder if you had lost your tongue somewhere out in the wilderness. I'm glad you have found it!" King Rupert clapped as he slowly rose to his full height. "Well, I'm afraid that, for now, I must bid you adieu, my pet. I have other pressing matters to attend to. Don't you worry though, I wont forget you." He laughed softly to himself as he exited Ayden's cell. She could hear him talk to the guard as he ascended the stairwell.

…

"What have I done…" Daniel sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands. They had rushed back to Willows home as quickly as possible, only to find it empty.

"Ayden…she was like a daughter to me…I didn't know the kings intentions…if I had, I would have quite his service long ago."

"But, Daniel, didn't he tell you the same lie he told all the other guards?" Emmett asked. "That she snapped, killed her husband, and ran?"

"William is dead? I had no idea." The old man moaned.

Sara joined him on the floor and placed a comforting arm around his shoulder. Looking at Willow, she asked the question that she and her husband were both dying to here the answer too.

"Can you tell us the full story, Willow dear?" The tears that had been building up in her eyes finally overflowed and trickled down her face.

"Of course. But Emmett is going to have to help me on some of it, he was there for the most recent parts." She looked up at the brooding man. "Is that ok?"

"I will do my best." Came his reply.

Willow told Daniel and Sara the story starting with Ayden's wedding night. She told how the king barged in on their honeymoon, captured William and forced Ayden to do his dirty work. She told how Ayden finally escaped and of Williams' death.

Emmett recounted how he stumbled into her camp and of the guards that came looking for her. He told the couple how they had gone to the city, how Ayden dyed her hair, and he even mentioned the fight for the bed. His comment on her stubbornness made them all laugh.

Finally, he told of their last night in the woods. He recalled the men in the woods. Emmett mentioned how he turned over to find a knife sticking out of Ayden. Shudders swept over his captive audience as the image of that night entered their minds. When he reached the part involving Daniel, the old man jumped into the story.

"If I had only known that was her…she looked so awful…"

"It's ok, Daniel. Willow stitched her up well. How was she when you left her, Willow?" Emmett asked.

"Frantic. You scared her badly. But she was ok. She tried to follow me though, when I came looking for you."

"She tried to get up?" Emmett asked guiltily.

"Yeah, she was worried you would do something stupid."

"Obviously…I can't seem to do anything right…"

"She worries because she cares, Emmett. She doesn't want to see you get hurt again." Willow placed her hand on his shoulder; on top of the scar he had gotten from the attack on his village.

"Well you know what?" he exclaimed, standing up and accidentally knocking Willow aside in the process. "I worry because I care too! She's my responsibility…I was the one who suggested she come here; if it weren't for me, she would still be safe! Daniel!" he turned and grabbed the old man by the shoulders. "You know the castle, you are close to the king. You have to help me get her back!"

…

"Emmett…Emmett!" a faint voice called.

"Ayden, where are you?" he answered. Emmett was clambering his way down a dank hallway, barely lit with a few, smoldering torches. "Ayden?"

"I'm here, Emmett…just a few more steps…" the voice said, getting weaker. "Help…" the voice was cut off and Emmett burst into a sprint.

"Ayden!" he shouted. "Ayden! Answer me!" He rammed his way through a heavy wooden door, breaking it off its hinges. The sight that met him caused him to halt quickly in his tracks. There was Ayden, her arms chained to a cold, stone wall. Never in his life did he think she could ever look so weak. He couldn't even call to her, his mouth had gone dry and he was in shock.

Emmett stumbled over to her limp body and lifted her head so she could see him. To his horror, her eyes were open wide in what looked like a mix between fear, surprise and pain. But he could not find any life in her eyes. Calling her name, he grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her.

"Ayden…?" he began, but was cut off by a sharp, stabbing pain of a knife in his back and the cold laughter of the king.

…

"Ayden!" Emmett shouted as he sat up in bed, sending his covers flying. Breathing heavily, he turned to perch on the side of his bed, holding his head in his hands. "We can't wait."


	9. Chapter 9 - Planning

Chapter 9

Planning

A spark spit from a fire, landing on the stone hearth. A large tapestry loomed overhead, depicting a bloody battleground. Shadows flickered along the walls, giving the war room a sinister look.

"Finally, I was beginning to believe the villagers had gotten the best of my men. Well? Is the job done?"

"Yes sire, the villagers are gone, not a single one survived."

"And you are positive?"

"Your highness, I personally lit the torch that burned the town to the ground. There is nothing left."

"Good, I cannot afford for past ghosts to haunt me, especially now."

"My liege?"

"Never you mind."

"Yes your highness." The captain bowed and left the king to his thoughts.

…

"What's going on?" Willow mumbled sleepily as she tripped out of her bedroom.

"We can't wait." Emmett stated, catching her elbow to keep her from falling. When she was steadily standing on her own, he went to wake up Sara and Daniel.

After they were all gathered in Willows sitting room, Emmett stood and told them why he had gotten them up in the middle of the night.

"We can't wait." He repeated for the third time. "If we do, it will be to late."

"What makes you think this?" Daniel asked.

"I just have a really bad feeling."

"Well," Sara said. "Since we are all up, we might a well start planning. It can't hurt." They agreed and Willow went to the kitchen to get snacks.

"Daniel, you know the castle best, right? And the king trusts you?"

"As far as I know, yes." The old man replied.

"Good. You will be our inside man. Willow and Sara? I want you to get everything you need together as quickly as you can. We are going to leave as soon as possible."

"Where are we going?" Sara asked timidly.

"I'm not exactly sure yet. We might start out at Emerald City, where Ayden and I got our supplies. We can plan our next move from there."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Willow inquired. "Since that's where you two first made a public appearance?"

"No one knew us there, and the guards didn't find us until we were a days ride from this city. I think we will be safe. Besides, even if the king does know we have been there, I bet he would think it stupid if we went back to a place we have already been. He seems to be the kind of guy who gets rid of connections, not goes back to them."

"You're right. Emerald City does seem like a safe option." Daniel said.

"Good. Okay, Daniel? You have the morning gate duty, right?"

"Yes."

"Let your wife and Willow out, and do not write them down in your book."

Daniel gave him and exasperated look as Emmett turned to the ladies.

"I want you to pack light, I don't want it to seem like you are going on a journey, especially a long one. Willow, I want you to take Rose, and Sara, take your horse. Ride a days journey and set up camp in the woods, but close to the rode so we can find you when we come with Ayden. Sound good?" The girls nodded as Daniel spoke up.

"And what exactly are you planning on us doing, lad?"

"When your shift ends, I will need you to help me sneak into the castle and grab Ayden."

"I can do that." Daniel agreed.

"Now can we all go back to bed?" Willow asked through a large yawn.

Chuckling, Emmett relented and the rescuers went back to sleep, their dreams restless.

…

"So, my dear, here we are again. You and me, all alone." The king bent down and thrust Ayden's head up to face him. Glaring at him, she spat in his face. Rupert looked at her for a moment, then slowly stood up, wiping his face as he went.

"I am going to kill you my dear. This, I know for sure, but how, I have not yet decided."

"You are a sick, twisted, evil…"

"Thank you for the compliments dearie," he interrupted. "But they are hardly appropriate in your current situation."

"Well, what should I be saying in this situation? Should I be begging for my life? I don't think that would help me. Besides, I don't want any favors or pity form you."

"Ha good, you are certainly not getting any. The only pity you will see from me is the pity for my poor men who have to endure killing you."

"What? I'm surprised your highness isn't going to kill me yourself? I thought you would have learned after my mistake not to trust other people?"

"That wasn't a mistake. That was blatant disobedience and un-loyalty. You were never loyal to me from the start; I should have seen it coming. But all my men I have now are completely loyal. They chose to be with me."

Ayden looked the hateful king in his cold blue eyes.

"I just want to know one thing," she said. "Why me? Why hunt me down and kill me? It's not like I was going to tell anyone what went on, that would get me in trouble too. Why couldn't you have just let me be?"

"I don't keep ghosts around to haunt me dearie."


	10. Chapter 10 - Escape and Capture

Chapter 10

Escape and Capture

Hooves clacked across the cobblestone road. Wooden wheels rolled down the uneven path. Divers were calling out to their horses, shouting "whoa" or "giddy-up", and the gatekeeper kept the traffic flow under control, keeping track of everyone who came and went. His Irish accent rang out loud and true through the din of the crowd. But, with all the hustle and bustle, just as the man turned his attention to a cart trying to pass through, two women left the city, seemingly unnoticed by anyone.

…

"Come now girl, where is your cry? Where is your plead for mercy?" Ayden only glared at the man holding the whip. Blood was streaming down her back and arms, but she didn't say anything.

"No matter, I will break you soon enough."

Gritting her teeth, Ayden bared the lashes she received, thirty in all. The king walked in as the final blow fell.

"Well?" he asked softly.

"She is strong, I have not broken her yet. More lashes, my king?" The torturer asked.

"No," he replied. "More lashes would kill her. Try something a bit more…draining."

An evil grin spread across the mans face as he unchained Ayden's wrists from the ceiling and strapped her to a table. Her heart was full of fear but she kept her eyes stern and her expression unfeeling.

"Are you ready to feel a little…spark?" the man asked as he flipped a switch and watched her body begin to convulse as electricity flowed through her.

…

"Hey Daniel, how was the crowd today?" a guard asked as he came through the watchtower door.

"Not to bad Jon." He answered. "A cart tried to slip through with some unmarked barrels, but I caught him in time."

"What would we do without you?" Jon asked, patting Daniel as he walked out the door. "See you tomorrow!" he called after him.

Daniel waved at the young man then continued on his way to his home. This journey was like every other one he had ever taken, except Sara would not be there to greet him at the door this time. He had let her and Willow slip through the gate. This time, Emmett would be waiting for him. He hoped their plan would work – he hoped he could get Emmett into the castle unnoticed and that they could get Ayden out and that it wouldn't be too late.

…

Emmett stood at the ready by the door, waiting for Daniel. They had gone over the plan many times that morning: Daniel would let his wife and Willow to slip through the gates unnoticed and Emmett would provide the distraction that would allow this to happen. He dressed as a merchant and loaded a couple unmarked barrels onto a cart and pretended that he wanted to go through the gate. He and Daniel held a heated argument at the gate while discreetly watching the girls escape the city. When they could no longer see them, Emmett announced that he would go back into the city and try to get his barrels marked, complaining loudly as he went. When he got back to Willow's home he removed his disguise and gathered the weapons he needed but hoped he wouldn't have to use, then he slipped through town to Daniels' home. When he got home, Daniel was supposed to take Emmett to the castle and point him in the direction of the dungeon then stand guard at the gate. Willow thought that that idea might be a little risky, having him standing randomly at the gate, but Daniel assured her that it was perfectly normal for the kings' guards to stand watch at the gate during their breaks. Emmett was then to sneak down to the dungeon and find Ayden, releasing her and getting both her and Daniel back to Willows' home as quickly as possible so he could hide them in the cart he had used earlier. Putting the merchant disguise back on, Emmett would then attempt to go through the gate for real. The plan had to work. He had to get Ayden back, he couldn't loose someone else…especially someone he was just staring to care for.

As Emmett stood by the door waiting for Daniel to return, he heard a commotion right outside. His conscience would not let him open the door so he peeked through the window next to it and saw the very thing he feared – Daniel was being ambushed. He looked on as the old man struggled against his captors, but to no avail. Rupert's guards overpowered him quickly and began to escort him back to the castle. It didn't take Emmett long to decide on what to do. He gathered the weapons he could easily carry and set off for the castle himself. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do. He was just going to follow his instincts and hope that they were right.

When Emmett arrived at the castle, it was surprisingly unguarded and easy to get into. The hard part was figuring out which hall went where. Entering the castle, he turned left, hoping he could pass through unnoticed; a feat that proved easy. Still, he was completely lost. He had no guide and the castle was huge, he just knew he had to go down. He hoped he would find Daniel in the dungeon with Ayden.

Emmett turned left again and found himself in what looked like the war room. There was a stone fireplace full of ash. Above it was a large tapestry that pictured a bloody battle. In the center of the room was a round, mahogany table with drawings and letters littering its surface. Looking around to make sure he was alone, Emmett crept closer, thinking that maybe he could find some kind of document that would tell him what the king was up to. Under one stack of papers, he found a list of names, every single one of them crossed out. Ayden's name was at the bottom…her name was crossed out as well. Emmett's heart stopped when he saw this. These were surely the names of the kings' assassins that he had wanted dead, and Ayden was on the list – crossed out. Surely she wasn't…Emmett couldn't even think the word. She had to be alive; he felt it. Frantically, he searched through the other papers, trying to find anything that could help clarify what he had just found. What he found next only added to his questions. Moving a stack of papers to the side, he saw his mother's name.

…

Finally, Rupert had come to take Ayden off the electric table. With a nod, the jailor shut off the power, but he did not unstrap her; instead, the king came and looked her in the eyes. Her body was still twitching from some leftover electricity coursing through her body, but she kept all expressions off her face. She could show this man no weakness.

"As you already know, a quick death would be to good for you. I want you to suffer, and be made and example of, so that way anyone who dares cross me again will know what is coming their way if they try." Rupert ran his hand down the length of her body while she glared at him. She did not, though, give him the satisfaction of jerking away from his touch.

"What do you want to do next, my liege?" asked the guard. "Do you want to use the stretching machine? Or how about we cut off her fingers and toes one by one?" the guard grinned and lifted her fingers as he spoke.

"No, all to good for her. She has lived long enough, but her death needs to be slow and painful. I believe the net will do."

Suddenly another guard came into the dungeon.

"Your Highness! There is a rebel in your work force."

Rupert stood still for a moment, with his hand resting on Ayden's thigh. Then, turning his attention to the guard who had been torturing Ayden, he said, "You know how the net works. Finish the job while I take care of this nuisance."

"Yes sir." The guard saluted to the king as he quickly left up the stairs, then he turned his attention to Ayden with an evil grin. Taking a knife, he knocked her unconscious then sliced a small gash across her neck, which began to bleed.

…

Blinking in the darkness that seemed to have swallowed him, Daniel looked at his surrounding. At first, he saw nothing, but slowly his eyes adjusted. He was lying on his back in the king's dungeon. Something was dripping on his shirt and he looked up to see what it was. He could only make out a large net hung from the ceiling, but he had a terrible feeling in his stomach.

"Ayden! Ayden, can you talk? It's me, Daniel. You remember me, right? My wife was Sara?"

The net moved slightly and a groan reached his ears.

"Ayden? What did the king do to you? Can you tell me?"

Ayden groaned again as more blood dripped onto Daniels' chest. The groan did not come from the rafters, where the net was strung. It came from a few inches above Daniel, and his fears were confirmed.

…

All he could do was stare at his mothers name on the document. Thousands of questions were spinning through his mind. What did the king know about his mother? Was he the one behind the attack on the town? If so, why? He had to get the answers to these questions…but he also had to prioritize…Ayden was still be alive…she had to be; and he needed to save her before he could get to any answers about himself. She would do the same for him. Pushing that document aside, he tried to find anything helpful that might save Ayden.


	11. Chapter 11 - Blood and Chains

Chapter 11

Blood and Chains

"Ayden, don't worry, Emmett is on his way, we are going to get you out of this. Just please, can you talk to me?" A groan was all that answered him.

"Ok, can you keep making some kind of noise so that I know you are still alive? I need to know that you are still conscious, don't go to sleep Ayden, ok?"

Ayden groaned again.

"So, let's see…what has happened since Emmett went missing…oh he was at my house by the way, eating some of Sara's apple pie; you remember those, don't you, Ayden?" Her quiet groan told him that she was listening to his story so he continued. "Well, Willow came running to my house and found him. He looked so guilty when she told him you had tried to get up yourself to go find him." Ayden made a noise that sounded almost like a laugh, which made Daniel smile. "Yeah, he felt pretty bad about that. Then…well, then we realized that you were gone and we were all terrified. Emmett and Willow told Sara and me what all had happened since you left and Emmett came up with a plan to save you. I must admit that it was an excellent plan…but it did not involve me getting caught…anyway the rest of it worked well. Both Sara and Willow are outside the city, waiting for us to join them, and Emmett…should be able to find us…"

Everything fell silent for a moment or two and then Daniel remembered that Ayden was supposed to be listening to his story and responding to it.

"Ayden?" he whispered. "Ayden?" No answer met him. "Ayden!?"

...

Emmett could find nothing else about Ayden, so he left the room and tried to find staircases that led down. He crept along the cold, stone walls, following each passageway until he met with a dead end, then turned around and tried another passage. He passed only one guard, and his heart was pounding the entire time.

"Hey, you there! Who are you and what are you doing?" the guard asked.

"I am…the new coroner, I am here to look at the prisoner…" Emmett answered, trying to make his voice sound authoritative.

"Ok. But um…you are going in the wrong direction; the dungeon is the other way, down the west wing hallway. The door is made of oak and it has bars in the window, you can't miss it."

"Oh, great, thanks." Emmett nodded at the guard and went in the direction he was told.

It wasn't long before he came to the door that was described to him and he slowly opened it. Realizing there was no guard in the room, he descended the stairs; but half way down, a terrible thought hit him. The guard believed his story about him being a coroner…did that mean Ayden was…? He couldn't allow himself to think the words. Steeling himself for whatever met him at the bottom of the stairs, he continued downward. As he neared the last few steps, he heard a fain sobbing and a man quietly calling Ayden's name. Emmett ran down the stairs but came to a quick halt as he saw the sight before him.

"Daniel!" he called, and ran towards the man on the ground. "What happened to you?" his hands moved gingerly around Daniel's chest that was covered in blood, careful not to touch him because he was afraid of hurting him.

"That's not my blood, son…" Daniel nodded to the net above him and Emmett looked up.

"What…what is it?" he asked.

"Ayden."

…

"Do you think they will be able to get Ayden out?" Willow asked Sara as they traveled down the road.

"Of course, you don't have anything to worry about. Daniel is highly trusted and Emmett is…extremely motivated."

"Yeah, I think he's in love with her."

"As do I, but I still can't get used to the idea of her with someone else besides William…"

"I know, I can't believe he's gone. They were the perfect couple, and so in love."

"Let's try not to bring it up, for both their sakes, ok sweetie?"

"I never dreamed about bringing it up, but why for both their sakes?" Willow asked, confused.

"Well, Ayden – I'm sure – is not over William. It probably still really hurts her. And if Emmett is truly interested in Ayden like we think he is, then it would only hurt his chances with her if we bring her husband up." Sara explained.

"Oh, I understand."

The women road on in silence for a while and eventually they came upon the agreed upon meeting spot.

"So what now?" Willow inquired. "How long do we wait?"

"No time limits, dear. We just wait."

…

Emmett was in shock. They had come so far and had tried so hard to rescue Ayden, and now it seemed hopeless.

"She's not…she's alive, right?" Emmett hesitated to ask.

"Ayden? Can you hear me?"  
"I don't know, she's lost a lot of blood…but she was slightly conscious only moments ago. Quick, find a way to get her down. Rupert probably had her throat cut and hung upside down so that she would loose it all…we need to at least make her level."

Before Daniel could finish speaking, Emmett started figuring out a way to get Ayden down.

"Can you stand up?" he asked the old man.

"My hands and feet are bound…do you have anything to cut them?" Bending down, Emmett cut Daniel's bonds.

"I can't think of any way to get her down besides just cutting the net. The rafters are to high to actually untie her. But if I cut the ropes, I am going to need you here to catch her. I don't want her falling and breaking anything. Do you think you can do that?"

"Son, I wish I could, but – no offence to Ayden – I cannot hold that much dead weight anymore. How about I cut and you catch?"

"That works." Emmett handed Daniel the knife and grabbed Ayden. "How are we going to get out of here now?"

"There is a way out through the kings private hunting grounds. The way there is actually through the dungeon. Rupert brings the animals he kills in here so the prisoners have to smell the death." Daniel began cutting the ropes that bound Ayden to the rafters as he explained this to Emmett. "We can go out that way. The place is never watched and Rupert only hunts in the early morning. We will have a couple extra days to travel through the forest though, before we will be able to get back to Sara and Willow. Do you think she can make it?" Emmett held on dearly to the netted girl as he considered the journey.

"If she is still alive, then she is surly fighting with all her power to stay that way. She is strong…I believe she can make it." He grunted as her full weight fell into his arms when Daniel cut the last of the ropes holding her to the ceiling. He laid her on the ground and unraveled her from the net. He started at her feet, taking in every detail as it came into view. She had no shoes on her feet, and as the net came up farther, her torso was revealed. Her knife wound was still visible, but not as bad as he remembered. Next, he saw that her arms were streaked with blood, but from what, he did not know. He held his breath as he pulled the net over her face, afraid of what he might see. He saw the gash in her neck and there was blood covering almost every inch of her pale face. He quickly took his shirt off and wrapped it snugly but gently around her neck then leaned over to check her breathing. He heard a faint breath escaping from her lips and he breathed a sigh of relief. Staring at her for a moment, he gently picked her up and turned to Daniel, who stood watching him.

"Where do we go?" Emmett asked.

Without a word, Daniel turned and led Emmett through the dungeon to a door that led to an open field. Motioning for Emmett to stop, he stepped out to check the surroundings, making sure that no one was watching the field. Confident that they were alone, Daniel nodded to his companion and they made their way across the open area towards the woods.


	12. Chapter 12 - Discovery

Chapter 12

Discovery

"My king, the coroner has come, I sent him down to the dungeons a little while ago. Would you like me to bring him to you?"

"What? What coroner?" Rupert whipped around from his mahogany table and stared the guard down. "What are you talking about?"

"The…the coroner…my king? Did you not call for one? He was walking through the castle…he told me who he was, so I assumed…"

"YOU ASSUMED!?" The king shouted, interrupting the guard. "You assumed that a strange man wandering my halls was who he said he was, so you lead him straight to my prisoners without confirming it with me? Imbecile!"

"Your…your highness…?" The guard trembled before the kings' wrath.

"Quickly…down to the dungeons with you! Check on our prisoners. If they are no longer there, the rest of your extremely short life will be miserable for you. If you have let them escape, I swear by my kingdom that I will make your last few moments a waking nightmare."

Terrified, the guard ran down to the dungeon only to find it empty. He stood in the middle of the room, visibly shaking, when suddenly he heard a fluttering sound that seemed to make the whole castle quake. It grew louder and louder until it reached the door to the dungeon, which was quickly thrown off its hinges and a terrifying creature came flying through the gaping hole. It had soul-wrenching red eyes, large wings, wild black hair that was disheveled and flew in every direction, and flaming red symbols all over its body. The very air around the terrible creature seemed darker and colder than the rest of the room, and as it slowly descended the stairwell, any and all hope and light that was in the room seemed to vanquish; there was nothing left but dread, foreboding, and fear. The guard barely had time to scream before the creature was on him; and with one swift and terrible movement from it's pointed claws, the guard slumped onto the floor, never to move again.

…

A few hours had passed since Emmett and Daniel escaped with Ayden and they had been able to go far in that amount of time; they had traveled several miles away from the castle, but they were still uneasy. They both knew that the kings men could come upon them at any moment and they also knew that Ayden needed a doctor…quickly.

"What are we going to do, lad? I fear that she will not make it through the night…"

"Do not say such things, Daniel…she is going to make it…she has to," Emmett answered as they trudged on.

The companions continued in silence until dark started to fall upon the forest.

"Emmett, we are going to have to settle down for the night. I am to old to continue on my feet for much longer, you cannot continue to carry Ayden without rest, and she needs to lie still for a while. We also need to tend to her more carefully than we did back at the castle; she is grievously wounded, and if she is not treated right she will surely die."

Unwilling though he was to stop, Emmett saw there was no point in arguing with Daniel and agreed to find a place to rest for the night. Eventually, they were able to find shelter in a small thicket of trees.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for some of Sara's cooking right about now…you wouldn't happen to have anything on you that is eatable, would you boy?" Daniel asked, patting his stomach as he reclined against the trunk of a large oak tree that served as the center of their safe haven.

"No, I wish I did, though. Food and water. Although, I believe Ayden may need it more than both of us combined…"

"Aye, you're right. Water would be a good thing for her."

"Daniel, can you keep her safe if I go looking for some?" Emmett asked. "She is going to need sustenance soon, when she wakes up." He had settled down beneath a cherry tree and placed her head in his lap. Looking down at her still, blood streaked face, he began to stroke her hair. Daniels eyes softened as he watched Emmett hold Ayden so gently.

"Of course, but be quick. I know you do not wish me to voice the worst, but I must. Emmett, I do not like the way she looks…I have seen Rupert use this method many times, and they do not live long. We also do not know what else he has done to her; her injuries may be more extensive than what we can see."

Nodding in agreement, Emmett carefully got to his feet and left to find something he could get Ayden to eat; he also kept an eye out for anything he and Daniel could eat. He did not get far though, when he suddenly heard Daniel calling for him. Emmett sped back to the little grouping of trees, hoping against hope that whatever had caused Daniel to call for him was either the old man's imagination or already gone. As he arrived, though, he realized he would have no such luck…Daniel was bending over Ayden, shaking her shoulders gently and calling out her name.

"What happened?" Emmett roared as he flew to Ayden's other side. Her eyes were wide with fright and sadness and her mouth was slightly open.

"I…I have no idea…she started to moan so I came to her side, then her eyes flew open, she let out a short scream, then stopped. She isn't moving…and I cannot get her to breathe again on her own…her heart is faint." Daniel looked sadly from Ayden lying on the ground to Emmett who was crying silently by her side.

"No, no no…." Emmett chanted over and over again. "You cannot die on me." He closed his eyes, pinched her nose, then leaned forward and blew air into her mouth. Her lungs inflated only a tiny bit but that was all. Bending over, he put his ear to her heart and heard as the last few, slow beats, disappeared.

…

King Rupert smoothed back his peppered hair as a man of large stature walked into the war room. Quickly, he fell to one knee saying, "Your highness," then rose again to face the king.

"They are gone, and yet, you are not going to chase after them? Surely they must have escaped into your hunting grounds, why do you not pursue them?"

"Damian…it is good to see you. You are correct, they are in my hunting grounds, but the reason I do no give chase is simply thus: The girl should be dead soon, and that will break the spirit of the boy. I do not wish him dead anymore…I want him alive and broken. He will serve me well that way."

"But…sire…what will the rest of the council say if they knew you were planning on using someone like him? Their kind is not readily welcomed into our courts."

"He is not aware…but when the time comes, I will take him under my wing and train him in our ways. The council can rot in the chairs they sit in."

"Rupert, he is an abomination! His mother was a wretched creature, his _father_ committed a wretched act, and so the boy is wretched! Surely the council will not approve of this!"

"I am their king, am I not? When it comes down to it, I can do as I please! The council is only here just to make those pompous wind bags feel like they have some control, but in reality, it is I that have all control. The boy will be dangerous to us if he is left on his own and has already proven that he will be hard to kill. I wish my spies had known who he was sooner so it wouldn't have to come down to this, but it has. I was not aware of him until he stepped into my city. Had I known of him earlier, I would have put an end to his miserable, filthy life, but it is too late for that now. Now, he must become my apprentice."

"Very well, my king. But, what if the boy does not wish to do as you command? What if her death means nothing to him and he goes on unfazed?"

"If she does not break him, I will. I will have him crawling back to me on his knees, begging me to show him mercy, begging me to take him in, and begging me to make all his sorrows and aguish disappear; and I, being the kind and forgiving king that I am, will allow him to work in the castle and learn from me. I will not have any of the nitwits from the council near him. I do not want their corrupt thinking to damage his mind. Now, am I understood, Damian?"

"Yes, sire."

"Good, now get out of my sight."

…

"Ayden! Stay with me!" Emmett cried. He threw himself onto her chest and began to weep as he talked to her. "You saved me, you promised me that we could find justice for my village, you cannot abandon me now, you selfish girl!" This emotional outburst scared Emmett for a moment, but only for a moment, because it was in that space of time that he realized his true, deep affection for the girl in his arms. He did not want to live the rest of his life without her. Even if she only wanted him as a companion, he would be there for her. He would have no other woman in his life, she was the one; and no matter what, he would never leave her side nor abandon her. He knew it might sound a bit far fetched, it was true that he had only known her for a short time, but like the fire that drew him to her on their first meeting, there was a spark within Ayden herself that drew him to her. He could not deny the feeling of love he felt for her; he could not let her die. Not now. Not after coming to this realization.

Daniel came and rested his hand on Emmett's shoulder.

"Son, I do not think there is anything else you nor I can do for her except give her a proper burial."

Emmett jerked up from Ayden and stared at the old man. His eyes began to glow and the light seemed to radiate from his entire body. Daniel began to back slowly towards the edge of the trees as Emmett growled.

"No."


	13. Chapter 13 - A New Face

Chapter 13

A New Face

"If they don't get here soon…I don't know what we will do." Sara confessed to Willow a day after they had escaped the city.

"Where do you think they are?"

"Who knows? They should have been here already if everything happened as planned; but judging by their absence, I can only assume it did not. Maybe they were not able to leave the way they came in and had to leave through another exit…like the kings hunting grounds maybe…I am sure they are still alive though. They have to be, I know it."

"Should we go back in and try to find them?"

"No lass, that would only jeopardize everything they have worked for. Plus, we have no idea where they are. They could be two minutes from here or two days from here. It is best if we just stay where we are and wait for them to come to us."

…

Emmett's whole body was emitting a golden aura about him and he began to quiver violently. Throwing his hands in the air he screamed, then he threw himself back onto Ayden, still shaking. The glow around him shifted to cover both the bodies on the ground. Screaming again, Emmett hunched over as a shell like object protruded out of his back, enveloping him within itself.

Daniel stood watching in silent amazement. Then, out of nowhere, a deep thumping sound, similar to that of a drum, filled the air. Listening hard, Daniel tried to distinguish what the sound was. Slowly he began to realize that the golden glow around Emmett pulsed to the beat. Suddenly, the glow that encompassed Ayden's body began to pulse to the beat of a different set of drums; then it dawned on him…he was hearing their heartbeats. Whatever was happening to Emmett was somehow bringing Ayden back to life. Dumbfounded, Daniel fell to his knees, unable to move, only capable of watching the scene that fell open before him.

This went on for several minutes when slowly, Emmett emerged from the cocoon that had come from what seemed his back, but upon close inspection, what Daniel had previously thought to be some sort of shell turned out to be wings. Wings! As he rose, Emmett brought Ayden up with him in his arms. But, this man was not Emmett. What used to be short, black hair was now long, flowing, pale blonde hair, his brown eyes had changed to a piercing gold, and he now also had a flaming golden symbol on his right cheek. With large, golden wings spread out behind him, the man standing before Daniel looked terrifying and yet somehow protective as he held Ayden in his arms.

"Emmett?" Daniel asked hesitantly.

The creature did not even look at Daniel, but continued to stare down at the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Live!" He yelled. The golden aura around him brightened until Daniel had to squint just to look at him, then suddenly, the glow disappeared and Emmett dropped down to his knees. Carefully, he placed Ayden on the ground.

"Emmett? Are…are you ok?" Daniel stood and walked slowly over to him and placed a trembling hand on his shoulder.

"Dan…Daniel…save her…" was all Emmett could say before he passed out and fell face down onto the ground with a thud.

…

The only thing that filled the black room was a red glow and a beastly growl echoed through the empty space.

"It has begun."

…

A faint golden glow was left around the two unconscious people laying on the ground as Daniel slowly made his way over to them.

"Ayden? Emmett?" he asked. Daniel sat on his knees, dumbfounded and not sure of what he just saw. Closing his eyes, he tried to play back everything that just happened, but a small sound interrupted his train of thought. Opening his eyes, Daniel saw Ayden begin to move. Astounded, he called out her name.

"Daniel? What happened?" she answered. Only her mouth moved though. She had yet to open her eyes.

"Yes lass, I am here…"

"What happened?" she asked again. When Daniel didn't answer, her eyes slowly fluttered open. Sitting up, she looked around. Staring at her, Daniel noticed that every wound she had was gone.

_What happened with Emmett? What did he do?_ He wondered. Following her gaze, he noticed she was looking at the man that lay unconscious next to her.

"Who is…where is Emmett?" she questioned.

"That is Emmett." Ayden turned to stare at Daniel and he noticed that the glow was fading from her body but her eyes remained slightly golden.

"No, he is not Emmett…Emmett had short black hair…and he definitely did not have wings. Who is this man?"

"Come here lass. Let me tell you everything that happened. Do you remember what I was telling you in the dungeon?"

Nodding, Ayden scooted over to Daniel and away from the strange man whom he claimed to be Emmett.

"I remember you telling me Emmett felt bad that I tried to get up to find him…but nothing after that."

"Ok, well let's see…" Daniel began to tell Ayden of the escape plan and how everything seemed to get a little complicated. Then he told her how she died on them and how Emmett had fallen apart. When he reached the part of how he began to change into the glowing golden figure before them, Ayden started to crawl over to Emmett. She could not believe her eyes. What had happened to him? Gently, she rolled him over, being careful that she didn't hurt his wings, and placed his head in her lap. She stroked his now long golden hair and peered curiously at his pointed ears and his flaming symbol.

"Emmett? Can you here me?" she softly patted his shoulder. "Come on, wake up…" Even though she told him to wake up, she wasn't sure she wanted him to. What if a new person came with his new looks? What if the Emmett she knew was no longer there?

"Daniel, what should we do? We can't stay here long, and he won't wake up…"

"Well, Emmett was on his way to find some food and water when your situations

were reverse…we all need it. Why don't you try to find some and I will try to wake him

up?"

Nodding, Ayden stood and left their thicket of trees taking a knife with her.

_I need to find water before I do anything…it has been a long time since I have had _

_some. _

She stood quietly for a moment, trying to listen for the sound of a brook or

stream. There were animals in the forest so they had to get their water from somewhere. She heard the faint sound of babbling water and quickly took off towards the noise, but keeping her footsteps quiet. She did not want to alert whatever else there was lurking in the forest to her presence. Finally she found the brook but she looked all around the clearing before she stepped out of the trees, hoping that there would be no guards waiting to trap her. Satisfied that she was alone, Ayden swiftly went over to the waters edge, dropped to her knees, and plunged her face into the icy water, gulping it in until her belly was full. Coming up for a breath, she looked at her surroundings and spotted a large fox in the distance.

_To birds with one stone! _Ayden thought. _Supper is just down the stream._ Her stomach grumbled with anticipation as she slowly backed into the coverings of the trees and silently made her way down to the fox. She jumped out and grabbed the fox by his tail. Startled, he yelped and turned to look at Ayden just in time to see the knife coming down to end his life. Suddenly, Ayden felt a hot fire in her hand that held the foxes tail and instinctively she let go with a shriek and fell backwards; then a cloud of smoke arose from where the fox stood snarling at her and an instant later she found a beautiful man with fox ears on top of her holding her at knife point with her own weapon.


	14. Chapter 14 - Companions and Rivals

Chapter 14

Companions and Rivals

Too startled to even scream, Ayden stared at the man pinning her to the ground. He had messy red hair, bright green eyes, a small pointed nose, and beneath the snarl on his face, she also saw a small surprised expression and a sly grin.

"So has the wretched king finally decided that he tried enough to catch me and now it was someone else's turn? That was pretty tricky of him to send a woman, but even the great fae king cannot out trick a kitsune! You'd have to get up pretty early to try and do that!"

"F…fae king? Kitsune? What on earth are you…how did you…what are you?"

"Really? Your feeble attempts at confusion are no match for me!" the man raised the knife higher over his head. "Although…you don't seem to be a fae…what are you?" he gently got off Ayden and offered her a hand, but she stayed on the ground where she was.

"That's exactly what I am trying to ask you!" she shouted. "I held a fox tail in my hand and the next moment, you are sitting on top of me holding my very own knife!"

"Wait…so you are a mortal? But then…why do you have an immortal aura?"

"What are you going on about? Yes I am a mortal! What else is there?"

The man squatted down in front of Ayden and looked at her curiously.

"Is this the fox tail you held earlier?" he asked as he turned around and placed a tail in her hand. Taking hold of it, Ayden tried to pull it closer but only succeeded in pulling the man back into her.

"Ahhh! Get off me! What kind of trick are you trying to play?" she yelled.

"Well…you did pull my tail, sorry if that throws me a little off balance."

"Your…your tail…?" Ayden began to turn pale. "That's not possible."

Dusting himself off, the man with the tail stood up.

"Of course it's possible. Did you think this whole world belonged only to you? Silly girl. There are many other creatures besides humans and mute beasts that roam the earth. I, as I mentioned earlier, am a kitsune. I am like a fox, yet also like a human. But I have many other traits besides that." Suddenly, Ayden found herself staring face to face with herself. Screaming, she leapt backwards and fell into the icy, rushing waters. She forced her head to stay underwater, thinking to herself that this had to be a dream. What she just saw could not be real.

Without warning, a strong hand broke the barrier of the water above her and grabbed her around her wrist.

"What do you think you are doing?" Her double was gone and in its place was the man from before. "Come here." He pulled Ayden close to himself. "Calm down." She fought weakly but relented soon and leaned into the fox mans embrace, exhausted.

"You have blood streaked all over you. Your eyes are an unnatural golden color. You claim to not know of the immortal kind yet you give off the unmistakable aura of a certain breed…I cannot place this particular aura, it has been many years since I have seen one like it…you are in the fae kings hunting ground yet you are not one of them. Please sweet lady, tell me what is wrong."

"Who is the fae king?" Ayden asked, her face buried in his fiery orange sleeve.

"King Rupert. Who else?"

"Rupert…is a…what's a fae?"

"A fae is a manlier term for faerie in my opinion. They have wings, they glitter, they can disguise themselves so they can hide in the human world, and they have magical powers. There are four different categories of faeries: earth, water, wind, and fire. Fire is what our dear King Rupert can wield. Normally, faes or faeries are quite nice, hospitable creatures. But Rupert and his clan are the most hostile group out there. Now, don't let him put a bad taste in your mouth for fire faeries, they are usually the most gentle. But power has gotten to his head and now he thinks he can rule the world."

"So why are you here if you dislike him so much?"

"He has gathered many legendary creatures to his hunting ground for his own sport. He has no love or respect for our lives. We would escape, but he has placed this thing around our wrists preventing us from ever crossing the boundaries. All of us have tried to take it off, but none of us were able to. We are all here until we die of old age, sickness, or his arrow."

"That's horrible! How many of you are there?" Ayden gasped and looked closer at her surroundings, trying to spot anything unusual.

"There used to be hundreds of creatures here…werewolves, vampires, griffins, harpies, unicorns, centaurs, minotaurs, sphinx, the phoenix used to soar through the sky and mermaids used to swim in the waters. But Rupert has killed every single one of us. I am the only one left." The fox man turned his head and Ayden saw a look she could relate with all too well. It was a look of loneliness, betrayal, anger, and sadness. The look only lasted for a small moment before his sly grin returned, but Ayden could tell that his heart was heavy with loss and hurt.

"Well…you said you are a kit…something or other…what can you do? I do not think I have ever heard of you, even in faerie tales." She looked up into the beautiful mans face and noticed for the first time that he had fox ears on the top of his head.

"Kitsune," his grin grew larger as he laughed at her butchering of his name. "The reason you haven't heard of us is because we can stay hidden in the human world. As you saw before I can be both fox and I can imitate any shape I chose – I imitated you earlier – this allows us to walk about without our ears and tails being noticed, but this is my true human form. We are extremely strong and fast and can make ourselves invisible. In fox form we can also fly, and shoot fire and lightening from our mouths."

"Wow, that is so incredible!"

"Why thank you!" he beamed.

"Earlier, you said you sensed an aura around me…I am not sure what you were talking about…but maybe you can help me."

"Anything for you, my lady." He rose to his feet with her in his arms and then gently stood her up on the forest floor. Turning her around to face him, he placed his arms on her shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes. "What is troubling you?"

Blushing at his closeness, Ayden explained her predicament with Emmett.

"I have a friend back in a thicket of trees who…well…I am not sure really what happened…you see, I was captured by Rupert and my friend came to rescued me. Apparently I died and…well…he did something to bring me back, but it changed him…I mean…he no longer looks the same…he was unconscious when I left to come find food and water."

"Ah, and that is when you perceived me to be your food, am I right?"

"I…uh…well…" Ayden stuttered. The fox laughed.

"Don't worry about it. It was an honest mistake. Come, lead me to your friend."

…

"My king." Damian was kneeling before King Rupert in the war room as before.

"Damian. I am not in a pleasant mood. If you value your life, make this quick."

Gulping, Damian nodded and stood.

"My king. I feel a powerful presence. It burst forth like a lightening bolt only moments ago. Is it he, your highness?"

"Yes, yes it is."

"Then why not go after him? Was this not your plan? Surely the girl is dead by now, only that much grief at one time could bring this upon him."

"Plans change. You of all people should know that." The king sneered at him. Hatred burned in Damian's heart and a fire in his eyes, but he only nodded and left the room without another word.

Turning back to his mahogany table, Rupert sighed. "There was one thing you did not pick up on, fool. Along with the boy's power bursting forth, another power came with it. One I have not felt in a long time." Looking down, he picked up a sheet of parchment with a single name written on it. "A very long time."

…

Ayden led the kitsune back to where Emmett was still laying unconscious. Upon hearing footsteps approach, Daniel ran out of the thicket to greet Ayden but came to a quick halt when he saw she wasn't alone.

"Ayden! What? Who? What?" He asked, not being able to form actual sentences. He found the strange mans appearance startling. He had heard of fox men, but did not realize they actually existed.

"Daniel, don't worry. He is a friend, held captive here as well. He is a kitsune, and he is here to help us with Emmett." Ayden then proceeded to tell the old man everything that had happened when she left, and as she finished the tale, the kitsune bowed low to Daniel.

"I am honored to meet you, sir. Even though I have only known this fair lady for but a short while, I want to thank you for keeping her safe and taking care of her. She is truly a light in this dark world." Ayden blushed as Daniel nodded in return.

"Aye, do not be thanking me lad, but the one inside the trees here. He is the one that has truly kept her safe."

"Then I shall do just that." With that, he waltzed into the thicket with the other two trailing, mystified, behind him. As soon as he came into view of Emmett, though, he stopped short.

"He is another fae! But he also has a mix of the same strange aura that you have, my lady. I do not know for sure what it is."

"A fae? Like the king?"

"Yes and no, sweet girl. The king has a fiery red glow about him and this man has a golden glow, akin to that which is in your eyes. It is quite beautiful."

"But…he was human before, how could he suddenly become a fae?" Ayden asked.

"Hmmm…well…there are a few differences between him and a fae, now that I look closer. His does not have symbols all over his body; the one on his face seems to be the only one. He also has pointed ears…like that of an…elf! That's it! Your aura, Miss Ayden, it is that of an elf!" he ran to grab her hands. "I see it now! He must have elf and fae in his blood. Only an elf can suppress any kind of power in another and hide it in human form, and it would take a great deal of emotional turmoil to bring it out. One of his relatives must have hidden this side from him since he was a young boy."

"But how do I have elf in me? Why are my eyes suddenly golden?"

"When this man transformed, what happened?" The kitsune turned to Daniel as he asked this question.

"Well, he was holding Ayden in his arms, told her to live – because she had just died, we were both sure of it – then a glow surrounded both of them, his wings began to grow, I heard both their heart beats, then the glow began to leave, he dropped to his knees, and she woke up."

"Just as I thought. He transferred his elven healing powers to you, my lady. You may now have traits similar to that of an elf. You will probably be swifter and stronger, your tracking skills should increase ten fold, and you will be able to hide better as well."

"Really? Interesting…" Ayden stood silent, deep in thought.

"No offense…but we really should be trying to figure a way out of here. You wouldn't happen to know the way out, would you?" Daniel asked the fox man. Ayden looked at him in time to see extreme sadness and abandonment cross his face, but he quickly hid it as he nodded and pointed to his left.

"I do, it is this way. If you let me, I can transform into my fox self and carry you three to the border." Daniel began to nod, but Ayden shook her head.

"We can't just leave you here!"

"Sweet Ayden, do not worry yourself about me. I will be fine here, as I have been for decades."

"No, I won't accept that! Come here, let me look at that device that keeps you here." He shook his head and sighed, but stretched his arm out to her all the same.

"I told you, it is impossible to take off…only the…" Ayden held the bracelet in his face.

"Nothing is impossible." She grinned and pulled him in for a hug. The kitsune was stunned as he rubbed his newly freed wrist and held the girl hugging him.

…

Emmett heard jumbled voices in the background but couldn't make out what they were saying or whom they belonged to. He could only distinguish one woman and to men. Slowly, he began to recognize Ayden and Daniels voices but the third remained a mystery. He had no idea what they were talking about…something about foxes, borders, and bracelets. Gradually, he opened his eyes and turned to face the voices only to witness Ayden pulling a strange man into a tight hug.

"What is this?" He yelled as he jumped up. His feet never came back to the ground, something was holding him in the air and his vision started to turn red.

"Emmett!" Ayden called out to him, but her voice trembled with fright. Was he truly that scary? Or was she just ashamed he caught her hugging another man. She began to back away with a frightened look on her face.

"What happened to him?" she turned to ask the man standing next to her. On close inspection, Emmett noticed he had a fox tail and a pair of ears on top of his head.

"What are you and why are you here?" Emmett yelled and the strange man.

"I believe his fae nature may have an angry side…he's glowing red now…I wonder…"

"Emmett!" Ayden called out again, but this time, she did not back away in fear, instead she walked toward him. "Emmett, come down. Come here and let us explain."

"Who is he and why is he here?" he shouted.

"He is a kitsune, he is here to help us. Come here Emmett…" Ayden reached her up and grabbed his hand.

Without warning, Emmett suddenly changed back to his original form and fell from the air, flattening Ayden to the ground. The kitsune came and rolled Emmett gently off of Ayden and helped her to her feet.

"Come on, let's get him out of here before he wakes up again. It will be easier than trying to explain everything to him here. We need to move. Here, put him on my back, then you two hop on, ok?" Ayden and Daniel nodded in agreement as he turned into a large fox. They did as he said and he took of running fast through the forest.


	15. Chapter 15 - Reunion

Chapter 15

Reunion

"I really wish they would hurry up and get here…not only am I worried, but I am also getting tired of eating cold food…" Willow told Sara.

"I know dear…we just can't risk a fire though."

"Ah…don't listen to me…I'm just worried about them is all…"

"You and me both. Come now Willow, why don't we go to be now, it's late and it won't do us any good just sitting up worrying about them."

"Yes," Willow sighed. "I suppose you're right."

Sara put the dinner things away as Willow rolled out the bed mats for the third night and fell into a troubled sleep. Sara uttered a sad sigh as she crawled onto her own mat. Lying on her back, she gazed at the stars.

"Daniel…where are you…" She started to close her eyes, but she suddenly heard a noise. Looking around, she realized that the sound was coming from a creature in the sky.

…

"Look Ayden, I can see their camp!" Daniel shouted in excitement. A grin spread across his entire face as he began to wave profusely. Ayden too smiled and leaned forward so she could speak better to the kitsune.

"There is our camp, do you think you can take us there without scaring the two women down there?"

"Women?" the fox man turned his head and gave Ayden a very foxish grin. "Of course, we wouldn't want to startle the beautiful ladies, now would we? What are their names? I don't want to be rude when I meet them."

"Well, Daniel's wife is named Sara and my friend is Willow."

"Ah Willow, a beautiful name for a young woman." He winked at her as he began his decent.

"Sara! Sara!" Daniel called. "We are back!" Sara came running to greet them but stopped short when she saw the large fox with them. "It's ok Sara! He helped us get here. Why, if it weren't for this lad, we would still be in the kings' hunting grounds. He's a kitsune! A real live kitsune!" As Daniel was telling his wife this, the kitsune transformed into his fox man state.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sara." He bowed and kissed her hand.

"Oh, dear, the pleasure is all mine! Thank you so much for helping them out; I was so worried! Are you staying with us, dear?"

"Well, I hadn't really thought about that…I have been in the kings' forest for so long, I am afraid that everywhere I knew or called home is probably gone…"

"Of course you are staying with us!" Ayden declared as she looked up from Emmett, who was still unconscious on the ground. "You know more about what happened to me and Emmett than anyone here, and you helped us escape, so we have to make that up to you somehow!"

The kitsune walked over to her and knelt beside her, holding her face.

"Sweet Ayden, you helped me escape, remember? There is no debt. I would be honored to stay with you."

"Good," Ayden grinned. "You must be tired after carrying us all the way here on your back, why don't you go get some sleep? I'm sorry we don't have anything very comfortable to sleep on…"

"Oh no! Don't apologize! I sleep on the ground all the time! It's pretty comfortable in fox form. Please, don't worry about me!"

"Ok, go get some rest, and again, thank you so much."

"It was my pleasure," he bowed his head and kissed her gently on the hand. Blushing, Ayden gave him a small grin as he transformed back into the small fox form she first saw him in. She turned back to Emmett as he pranced away to find a suitable place to sleep.

"Ok Emmett…come on, please wake up…" She gently ran her fingers through his hair. It was finally back to its natural short black style. "Come on Emmett…"

Emmett groaned and grabbed her wrist. "Where am I? What happened?" he asked.

"We are back with Willow and Sara, outside the city."

"Wait a minute…shouldn't this be the other way around?"

"What do you mean?" Ayden helped him slowly sit up.

"I mean, shouldn't you be the one lying on the ground and me taking care of you? Weren't you badly hurt when we found you?"

"I was, but you saved my life. I still don't fully understand what happened to you though…the kitsune might be able to explain it better in the morning."

"The…the what? What on earth is a kitsune?"

Ayden could see that her trying to explain everything to Emmett tonight was not going to be helpful. "Why don't you just wait til morning when everyone is awake and he can tell you better than I can. He has a better understanding of what happened."

"Um…ok…" he gave her a puzzled look but was to tired to argue the matter.

"How are you feeling, lad?" Daniel came over and laid a hand on Emmett's shoulder.

"Well, I feel completely drained for some reason…and very confused about what happened…the last thing I remember is going to get us food…but Ayden said that a kit-thing should tell me in the morning…does the kit-thing have a name?" He asked, turning back to Ayden.

"Oh! We never asked him his name! Oh my gosh…I feel so horrible!"

"He?" Emmett asked.

"Aye, and I forgot to ask his name as well…We will just have to beg his forgiveness in the morning."

"He?" Emmett asked again.

"Yes, Emmett, the kitsune is a he. Now, why don't you take Sara's mat and try to get some sleep. I want to stay up and talk with my lovely wife for a while so she won't need it," Daniel smiled at his wife and kissed her gently on the lips. "It is so good to see you again my dear," he said as he kissed her again. Giggling, the two walked off and sat under a large tree where Daniel held Sara safely against him.

"Come on," Ayden began helping Emmett to his feet. "You need to relax. You've

had a long day." She settled Emmett down on the mat then started to get up.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked.

"To find a place to sleep, why?"

"Well…after everything that happened today…I don't really feel like sleeping…or staying by myself, mostly because I am scaring myself. You said that something happened to me but you don't know what…and that is unsettling…could you…?"

"Emmett…" she knelt down and looked him in the eyes. "You have nothing to be afraid of." She smiled then sat beside him.

"Ayden…are your eyes gold?" He turned her face towards him and looked at her eyes, staring at the new color in wonder.

"Oh…um…that's something else the kitsune will have to explain to you."

"Will you just tell me what this kitsune or who this kitsune is?"

"Well, he is this fox creature…like half fox half human…he flew us out of the kings forest."

"Part fox…? That's…new…"

"That's not the only thing that's new…" Emmett gave her a curious look but decided not to ask. The couple sat in silence for a while until Ayden began to nod off. She was so tired that she was almost incomprehensible when she told Emmett she needed to find a place to sleep.

"No, you are not wandering off like this, come here." He pulled her into his lap and she fell fast asleep. Throughout the night, Emmett ran his fingers through her hair and held her tight. He suddenly realized that her hair was back to normal. Her extensions and black dye was gone and in its place was her short blonde hair. He smiled, having always preferred it this way. He held her until morning, when the sun woke her up…the sun and a scream.

"Willow!" Ayden jumped up and ran to see what was wrong and Emmett followed.

"Ayden you're back!" Willow jumped up and ran to give her friend a hug. "And you're ok!"

"I'm fine, but why did you scream?"

"Oh, it wasn't really a scream, more of a…well…look!" she held a little fox in Ayden's face. "Isn't he adorable?" She brought the fox to her chest and began to cuddle it.

"Uh…Willow?" She saw an impish smile creep onto the foxes face.

"Yeah?" She sat down and began to fondle the little fox and kissed it all over.

"That's not a…" but before she could say anything else, the fox turned into a man sitting right in Willows arms, her lips on his nose.

"Am I really that cute?" He asked.

"Ahhhhh!" Willow screamed and jumped up. "What? Who? How? What?"

"Don't be frightened sweet maiden, it is still me, the same fox you were cuddling only moments ago," he bowed his head but winked at her at the same time.

"You vixen!" Willow ran to hide behind Emmett but Ayden began to laugh.

"Willow, it's ok, he is a kitsune, he helped us get back," then Ayden turned to the fox man. "I am so, so terribly sorry…we never asked you your name! You know all ours, but we never stopped to ask you yours!"

"Oh, sweet Ayden, please! Do not worry about it! I have no name. Normally, my kind will serve a master and they will give us a name, but I have had no master, so I have no name."

"Vixen would be a good name for you…" Willow muttered under her breath from her hiding place behind Emmett.

The kitsune turned to give her a sly smile. "Vixen it is!"

"You…you sure?" Ayden asked, not really sure why anyone would want that to be their name.

"Yes, it suits me, don't you think?" He wink at Willow.


End file.
